''Ctenophorus'' is a genus of

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s, commonly known as comb-bearing dragons, in the family

Agamidae Agamidae is a family (biology), family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview phylogenetics, Phylogenetic ...

. The genus contains the most diverse group of dragon lizards in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is the largest group of Australian lizards and it has an extensive radiation in the arid zones. Many of the species of ''Ctenophorus'' have been grouped by a similar morphology. The informal names and groupings within this genus — rock dragon, crevice-dragon, ground-dragon, sand-dragon, and bicycle-dragon — are named after the mythological creature, the

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. Lizards in the genus ''Ctenophorus'' may be confused with lizards in the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

Tympanocryptis ''Tympanocryptis'' is a genus of Australian lizards in the family Agamidae commonly known as earless dragons. Description The genus ''Tympanocryptis'' has the following characters. The tympanum is hidden (hence the common name earless dragon). ...

'' and '' Diporiphora''. Swan G, Shea G, Sadlier R (2004) ''A Field Guide to Reptiles of New South Wales''. Sydney, New South Wales: Reed New Holland. .

Species

There are 34 recognized species in the genus. *''

Ctenophorus adelaidensis ''Ctenophorus adelaidensis'', commonly known as the western heath dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, is a species of agamid lizard occurring in sandp ...

'' ( Gray, 1841) – western heath dragon *''

Ctenophorus butlerorum ''Ctenophorus butlerorum'', also known commonly as Butler's dragon, the Shark Bay heath dragon Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition''. Sydney, New South Wales: New Holland Publishers. 5 ...

'' ( Storr, 1977) – Butler's dragon, Shark Bay heath dragon, Edel heath dragon *''

Ctenophorus caudicinctus ''Ctenophorus caudicinctus'', commonly known as the ring-tailed dragon or ring-tailed bicycle-dragon is a native species of agamid lizard occurring in rocky ranges and outcrops of Australia. ''Ctenophorus caudicinctus'' is most commonly found in ...

'' ( Günther, 1875) – ring-tailed bicycle-dragon, ring-tailed dragon *''

Ctenophorus chapmani ''Ctenophorus chapmani'', commonly known as Chapman's dragon, southern heath dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, or Bight heath dragon, is a species o ...

'' (Storr, 1977) – Chapman's dragon, southern heath dragon, Bight heath dragon *''

Ctenophorus clayi ''Ctenophorus clayi'', also known commonly as the black-collared dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, the black-shouldered ground-dragon, and Clay' ...

'' (Storr, 1967) – black-shouldered ground-dragon, black-collared dragon *''

Ctenophorus cristatus ''Ctenophorus cristatus'', commonly known as the crested dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, Cogger, H. (2000) ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia ...

'' (Gray 1841) – crested bicycle-dragon, crested dragon, bicycle dragon *''

Ctenophorus decresii ''Ctenophorus decresii'', also known commonly as the tawny dragon or the tawny crevice-dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Australia. The average snout-to-vent length (SVL) of the species is wit ...

'' ( A.M.C. Duméril &

Bibron Gabriel Bibron (20 October 1805 – 27 March 1848) was a French zoologist and herpetologist. He was born in Paris. The son of an employee of the Museum national d'histoire naturelle, he had a good foundation in natural history and was hir ...

, 1837) – tawny crevice-dragon, tawny dragon *''

Ctenophorus femoralis ''Ctenophorus femoralis'', the long-tailed sand dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, is a species of agamid lizard occurring on spinifex covered sa ...

'' (Storr, 1965) – long-tailed sand-dragon *''

Ctenophorus fionni ''Ctenophorus fionni'', also known as the peninsula dragon, Arcoona rock dragon or peninsula crevice-dragon, is a species of agamid lizard occurring only in South Australia. Etymology The specific name, ''fionni'', is in honor of someone calle ...

'' (

Procter Procter is a surname, and may refer to * Adelaide Anne Procter (1825–1864), British poet, daughter of Bryan Procter * Andrew Procter (cricketer) (born 1968), English cricketer * Andrew Procter (born 1983), British association football player fo ...

, 1923) – Peninsula crevice-dragon, Peninsula dragon *''

Ctenophorus fordi The Mallee dragon (''Ctenophorus fordi)'', also commonly known as the Mallee dragon and the Mallee sand-dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to the arid parts of southern Australia. Etymology The Mall ...

'' (Storr, 1965) – Mallee dragon, Mallee sand-dragon, Mallee military dragon *''

Ctenophorus gibba ''Ctenophorus gibba'', commonly known as the bulldust ground-dragon or gibber dragon,Cogger, H. (2000) ''Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia'', Reed New Holland, Sydney, New South Wales, Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles ...

'' ( Houston, 1974) – Bulldust ground-dragon, gibber dragon *''

Ctenophorus graafi ''Ctenophorus graafi'', or Graaf's dragon is a species of agamid lizard occurring in the far eastern interior of Western Australia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of ''Ctenophorus caudicinctus ''Ctenophorus caudicinctus'', comm ...

'' (Storr, 1967) – Graaf's dragon *''

Ctenophorus infans ''Ctenophorus infans'', the Laverton ring-tailed dragon, is a species of agamid lizard occurring around Laverton and the Mount Margaret Goldfield of Western Australia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of ''Ctenophorus caudicinctus ...

'' (Storr, 1967) – Laverton ring-tailed dragon *''

Ctenophorus isolepis ''Ctenophorus isolepis'', commonly known as the central military dragon, military dragon or military sand dragon, is a species of agamid lizard occurring in the arid parts of central and western Australia.Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete ...

'' ( Fischer, 1881) – central military dragon *''

Ctenophorus maculatus ''Ctenophorus maculatus'', commonly known as the spotted military dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, spotted dragon,Cogger, H. (2000) ''Reptiles an ...

'' (Gray, 1831) – spotted military dragon, spotted dragon, spotted sand-dragon *''

Ctenophorus maculosus ''Ctenophorus maculosus'', commonly known as the Lake Eyre dragon or salt-lake ground-dragon, is a species of agamid lizard endemic to South Australia. ''C. maculosus'' mainly inhabits the edges of salt lakes in South Australia, from which i ...

'' ( F.J. Mitchell, 1948) – Lake Eyre dragon, salt-lake ground-dragon *''

Ctenophorus mckenziei ''Ctenophorus mckenziei'', more commonly known as the dwarf-bicycle dragon, is a species of endemic Australian lizard within the family Agamidae and genus Ctenophorus. Originally identified as the agamid ''Amphibolurus mckenziei'', the lizard h ...

'' (Storr, 1981) – dwarf bicycle-dragon, McKenzie's dragon *''

Ctenophorus mirrityana The Barrier Range dragon (''Ctenophorus mirrityana'') is an Agamidae, agamid lizard which has been newly described (2013) as a separate species from the Ctenophorus decresii, tawny dragon (''Ctenophorus decresii''). This species is endemic to Au ...

'' (

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John). The clan surname is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic "Mac Gille Eathain" ...

et al., 2013) – Barrier Range dragon *''

Ctenophorus modestus ''Ctenophorus modestus'' is a species of agamid lizard occurring in South Australia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of ''Ctenophorus decresii''. References Agamid lizards of Australia modestus Modestus was a Roman cognom ...

'' ( Ahl, 1926) *''

Ctenophorus nguyarna ''Ctenophorus nguyarna'', commonly known as the Lake Disappointment dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, is a species of agamid lizard occurring in l ...

'' ( Doughty, Maryan, Melville & J. Austin, 2007) – Lake Disappointment dragon *''

Ctenophorus nuchalis ''Ctenophorus'' is a genus of lizards, commonly known as comb-bearing dragons, in the family Agamidae. The genus contains the most diverse group of dragon lizards in Australia. It is the largest group of Australian lizards and it has an exten ...

'' ( De Vis, 1884) – central netted dragon, central netted ground-dragon *''

Ctenophorus ornatus ''Ctenophorus ornatus'', the ornate crevice-dragon or ornate dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is found on granite outcrops of Western Australia. The species is a member of a diverse genus, ''Ctenophorus'', that contains ...

'' (Gray, 1845) – ornate dragon, ornate crevice-dragon *''

Ctenophorus parviceps ''Ctenophorus parviceps'', commonly known as the Gnaraloo heath dragon or northwestern heath dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, is a species of ag ...

'' (Storr, 1964) – Gnaraloo heath dragon, northwestern heath dragon *'' Ctenophorus pictus'' ( W. Peters, 1866) – painted dragon *''

Ctenophorus reticulatus ''Ctenophorus reticulatus'', the western netted dragon or western netted ground-dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is found in South Australia, Western Australia and southern Northern Territory. Description ''C. reticulat ...

'' (Gray, 1845) – western netted dragon, western netted ground-dragon *''

Ctenophorus rubens ''Ctenophorus rubens'', commonly known as the reddening sand-dragon or rufus sand dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, is a species of agamid lizard o ...

'' – reddening sand-dragon, rufus sand dragon *''

Ctenophorus rufescens ''Ctenophorus rufescens'', commonly known as the rusty dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, or rusty-crevice dragon is a species of agamid lizard occ ...

'' ( Stirling & Zietz, 1893) – rusty crevice-dragon, rusty dragon *''

Ctenophorus salinarum ''Ctenophorus salinarum'', commonly known as the claypan dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, or saltpan ground-dragon is a species of agamid lizard ...

'' (Storr, 1966) – saltpan ground-dragon, claypan dragon *''

Ctenophorus scutulatus ''Ctenophorus scutulatus'', commonly known as the lozenge-marked dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, or lozenge-marked bicycle-dragon is a species of ...

'' (Stirling & Zietz, 1893) – lozenge-marked dragon, lozenge-marked bicycle-dragon *''

Ctenophorus slateri ''Ctenophorus slateri'', commonly known as Slater's dragon, is a species of agamid lizard occurring in ranges of the Northern Territory in Australia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of ''Ctenophorus caudicinctus ''Ctenophorus ca ...

'' (Storr, 1967) – Slater's dragon *''

Ctenophorus spinodomus ''Ctenophorus spinodomus'' commonly known as Eastern Mallee Dragon, is a species of Agamidae, agamid lizard Endemism, endemic to the arid and Semi-arid climate, semi-arid regions of southeastern Australia. Belonging to the genus ''Ctenophorus'', ...

'' Sadlier, Colgan, Beatson, & Cogger, 2019 – Eastern Mallee dragon *''

Ctenophorus tjantjalka ''Ctenophorus tjantjalka'', also known as the ochre dragon,Wilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, is a species of agamid lizard occurring on low, weathered, cr ...

'' ( Johnston, 1992) – ochre dragon *''

Ctenophorus vadnappa ''Ctenophorus vadnappa'', commonly known as the red-barred dragonWilson, S., Swan, G. (2013) ''A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia'', New Holland Publishers, Sydney, New South Wales, or red-barred crevice-dragon is a species of agamid l ...

'' (Houston, 1974) – red-barred crevice-dragon, red-barred dragon *''

Ctenophorus yinnietharra The Yinnietharra rock dragon or Yinnietharra crevice-dragon (''Ctenophorus yinnietharra'') is a lizard in the family Agamidae. The species was first described by Glen Milton Storr in 1981. It is endemic to Western Australia Western Australia ...

'' (Storr, 1981) – Yinnietharra crevice-dragon, Yinnietharra rock dragon

Polymorphism

Lizards of the genus ''Ctenophorus'' are known to display color polymorphism, more than one color type being found within a population. It is believed that color polymorphism in this group has evolved as a result of a combination of sexual selection and natural selection.

References

External links

List of links to a page about each species, some with imagesGoogle search for images
*https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/Upload/Files-Biological-Sciences/R-and-A-text/Key-to-the-Dragons-of-South-Australia_1.pdf *

Species

Polymorphism

References

External links

Further reading