Lizards in pinstripes: morphological and genomic evidence for two new species of scincid lizards within Ctenotus piankai Storr and C. duricola Storr (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Australian arid zone Rabosky, Daniel L. Doughty, Paul Huang, Huateng Zootaxa 2017 4303 1 1 26 Storr, 1969 Storr 1969 [151,504,826,852] Reptilia Scincidae Ctenotus Animalia Squamata 13 14 Chordata species piankai  ( Figs. 1, 3A, 5, 13)     Holotype. WAMR30000 (field number—E. R.P.10799), male, collected 24 mi[ 38 km] east-north-east of Laverton, Western Australia( 28°31'S, 122°45'E) by E.R. & H.L. Piankaon  26 February 1967.   Measurements of holotype.SVL 44 mm; TL 99 mm; HL 8.3 mm; HW 5.8 mm; HD 4.7 mm; 4ToeL 7.3 mm; ToeLam 24; MBSR 24; SupLab 8; InfLab 9; supraciliaries 7; EarLob 3 each side.    Paratypes.Listed under ‘Material’ in the original description (n = 10): WAMR1 5723, female, Muggun, WA; ‘ERP, 1’ (now  LACM56067), 24 mieast-north-east of Laverton, WA; ‘ERP, 1’ (  LACM56066), sex unknown, five miles north-east of Dunges Table, WA; ‘ERP, 5’ (  LACM56068–72), sexes unknown, eight miles west of  Neale Junction, WA; ‘ERP, 2’ (  LACM56064–65), sexes unknown, 18 milessouth of  Neale Junction, WA.   Diagnosis.A small-bodied (to 53 mmSVL), elongate  Ctenotus, nasals in contact, prefrontals in contact, 22 or 24 midbody scale rows, 18–23 compressed lamellae under toes with obtuse keel, usually eight supralabial and supraciliary scales; pattern including six (occasionally eight) pale narrow longitudinal stripes on a reddish-brown dorsum, at most a single upper mid-lateral row of spots or dashes, dorsal stripes not continuing on head to snout, tail not red or blue, pale lateral stripe approximately twice as wide as pale paravertebral and dorsolateral stripes, dark vertebral stripe terminates on nuchals (not contacting parietals), pale dorsolateral stripe not continuing anteriorly to eye (broken), pale upper lateral stripe between ear and forelimb usually continuous, lower lateral stripe (if present) on fore-body solid or broken, pale paravertebral stripes join on tail at or posterior to level of heel of extended hind limb, lower labial scales immaculate.   Description.Head triangular, with snout narrowing to rounded tip; body long and cylindrical with flattened ventrum, neck only weakly constricted from head and body, concavity posterior to forelimbs; limbs short and welldeveloped, palmar and plantar surfaces with raised conical to triangular scales with rounded tips, pentadactyl, finger length: 3>4>2>5>1, toe length: 4>3>2>5>1, digits laterally compressed with obtuse keel, claws long and recurved; tail long and thin, tapering to a fine point. Dorsal scales smooth, flat, reflective and imbricate, posterior edge of scale convex; scales on midline of dorsum widest, decreasing in size to ventrolateral edge; on tail, ventral scale rows along midline much wider than other scale rows, distal portion of tail often regenerated. Nostril located in center of nasal scale, directed anteriorly, frontoparietals divided, prefrontals usually in contact, supraoculars four (2nd largest), supraciliaries 6–9, loreals two, preoculars two, presuboculars one, upper eyelid with translucent scales, lower eyelid scaly, ear opening D-shaped with 3–5 ear lobules on anterior edge, nuchals 2–8, mental with straight posterior edge, gulars imbricate decreasing in size posteriorly towards neck then increasing again on ventrum; two greatly enlarged scales anterior to cloaca. Variation in continuous and meristic characters is summarized in Table 1.   FIGURE 13.  Ctenotus piankaiholotype (specimen from WAM). Scale bar is 10 mm.  Coloration.Simple pattern of light to medium reddish-brown background and six (occasionally eight) longitudinal stripes; anterior portion of dorsal scale lighter than posterior portion; vertebral stripe darker than other areas of background color; four pale dorsal stripes narrow (<½ scale width), interrupted by encroachment of dark dorsal border of scale giving a dashed appearance; two lateral stripes wider (>½ scale width) and solid, continuing forwards to ear and on to upper labials and below eye; occasionally a row of poorly-formed pale flecks or spots between pale dorsolateral and lateral lines and usually only occurring on the fore-body but may continue to near hind limbs; paravertebral stripe continues anteriorly to nuchals (rarely in contact with parietals); dorsolateral stripe continues anteriorly to fourth supraocular (sometimes to eye), but broken on parietal and temporal scales; occasional short pale lower lateral stripe below upper lateral stripe from below angle of jaw to arm; purplish-black eyes visible through medial supraocular scales; ear lobules pale; lower labials and all ventral surfaces pale and immaculate; ground color of legs, arms, and tail light reddish-brown to tan; arm with 4–6 faint alternating light and dark longitudinal stripes; leg with 6–8 contrasting light and dark stripes; on tail, pale paravertebral stripes usually join at the level of the heel of extended leg; distal portion of tail tan on dorsal surface with stripes only on lateral surfaces.  Habitat.An inhabitant of sand dunes and plains with spinifex grasses (especially  Triodia basedowii), with which they are closely associated ( Pianka 1986). Dietary analysis of more than 150 individual lizards from the Great VictoriaDesert suggests that the diet of  C. piankaiis dominated by true bugs (Hemiptera) and spiders ( Pianka 1986; Goodyear & Pianka 2011).   Distribution.Widely distributed in the western and central arid zone in Western Australia, north-western South Australia, the southern half of the Northern Territoryand extending as far east as the Simpson Desert in far western Queensland(QM [ QueenslandMuseum] J85419) ( Fig. 4). In Western Australia, occurs on sandy substrates as far north as the northern edge of the Tanami and Great Sandy deserts and has been found as far north as the Wolfe Creek meteor crater (UMMZ [University of MichiganMuseum of Zoology] #242644).   Etymology.‘Named after Dr Eric R. Pianka, in appreciation of his intensive research on the ecology of our desert lizards.’ ( Storr 1969, p. 106).    Remarks.This species was extensively studied in E.R. Pianka’sstudies of the ecology of desert lizards in the Great Victoria Desert of Western Australia(summarized in  Pianka1986). The lizards collected from his studies form the majority of specimens of this species held in the WAMcollections. 1585968286 1967-02-26 WAM E.R. Pianka & E. R. & H. L. Pianka -28.516666 Laverton 1232 122.75 13 14 1 Western Australia holotype 1585968291 WAM, LACM Muggun, WA & Laverton, WA & Dunges Table, WA & Neale Junction, WA Neale Junction Neale Junction 13 14 LACM 56067, LACM 56066, LACM 56068-72, LACM 56064-65 1 paratype 1585968283 WAM E. R. Pianka's Pianka 15 16 1 Western Australia