NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Lake Eyre Dragon
Ctenophorus maculosus (Mitchell, 1948)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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 its common names are derived. It survives in this harsh habitat through adaptive mechanisms to tolerate high temperatures and lack of free water. The female C. maculosus possesses unique male rejection techniques which are currently the focus of further research.
Wikipedia contributors, Ctenophorus maculosus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:07:38.649101+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ctenophorus maculosus (Mitchell, 1948)
- Name authority
- (Mitchell, 1948)
- Common name
- Lake Eyre Dragon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Agamidae
- Genus
- Ctenophorus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyAgamidae
- subfamilyAmphibolurinae
- genusCtenophorus
- speciesCtenophorus maculosus (Mitchell, 1948)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ctenophorus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Western Heath DragonCtenophorus adelaidensis (Gray, 1841) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ring-tailed Bicycle-dragonCtenophorus caudicinctus (Günther, 1875) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-shouldered Ground-dragonCtenophorus clayi (Storr, 1967) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Crested Bicycle-dragonCtenophorus cristatus (Gray, 1841) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mallee DragonCtenophorus fordi (Storr, 1965) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Military DragonCtenophorus isolepis (Fischer, 1881) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lozenge-Marked DragonCtenophorus scutulatus (Stirling & Zietz, 1893) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ctenophorus tjantjalka Johnston, 1992 | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yinnietharra Crevice-dragonCtenophorus yinnietharra (Storr, 1981) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rusty Crevice-dragonCtenophorus rufescens (Stirling & Zietz, 1893) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Saltpan Ground-dragonCtenophorus salinarum (Storr, 1966) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Netted DragonCtenophorus reticulatus (Gray, 1845) | AgamidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Tympanocryptis maculosa Mitchell, 1948 Mitchell, 1948 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Ctenophorus&species=maculosus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6BMPH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.