Grammatophora decresii (Duméril and Bibron, 1837: 472–474).

Amphibolurus decresii ‘southern race’ (Houston, 1974: 51).

Ctenophorus decresii ‘southern lineage’ (McLean et al., 2013: 52).

Types.—The original description was based on two syntypes, a male and a female, from L'Île de Decrès (Kangaroo Island) and registered as MNHN 6545 (Duméril and Bibron, 1837). We designate the male as lectotype (MNHN 6545; Fig. 5A) and the female as paralectotype (MNHN 6545A; Fig. S2; see Data Accessibility) because only the male exhibits the diagnostic coloration.

Diagnosis.—Ctenophorus decresii is a member of the C. decresii species group (Houston, 1974; Houston and Hutchinson, 1998). Within the C. decresii species group, C. decresii is distinguishable by the following combination of characters: snout scales smooth to longitudinally keeled; vertebral scales flat; presence of a broad dark undulating lateral stripe, often constricted into blotches and interrupted to form two separate blotches posterior to the tympanum; and in males, the throat is blue or blue and yellow with yellow to orange margins.

Description.—A moderately sized lizard reaching a maximum SVL of approximately 88 mm and total length of 230 mm. Head and body depressed. Tail long and tapered to a fine tip. Forelimbs moderately long, almost reaching groin when adpressed. Hindlimbs long and reaching or almost reaching snout when adpressed. Finger lengths: 4 . 3 . 5 . 2 . 1; toe lengths: 4 . 3 . 5 . 2 . 1. Characteristic of the genus, a distinct row of enlarged keeled scales extending from the nostril, below the eye to above the tympanum (Houston and Hutchinson, 1998). Ear membranes exposed and scale-free. Scales on snout are smooth to longitudinally keeled. 12–18 supralabial scales; 11–16 infralabial scales; 4–6 scales between rostral and nasal; 4–6 scales between supralabial and nasal; 10–13 internasal scales; 21–29 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe (McLean et al., 2013). Dorsal crest is small, no more than a series of keeled scales, becoming smaller posteriorly and not reaching base of tail. Nuchal crest low or absent. Scales on the dorsal surfaces of the limbs and tail are keeled. The gular fold is strongly developed and extends across the shoulders. 40–46 femoral and precloacal pores are arranged in a straight line along the thighs. Pores are present but smaller in females.

Adult male base color varies from gray-blue to brown, with pale blue flanks (Figs. 1C, 4A). The dorsolateral surface of the head is orange to yellow, extending past the shoulders. The extent of this coloration varies among individuals and depends on location but does not extend further than the mid-point of the axilla-groin length. A broad black lateral stripe begins posterior to the tympanum and terminates at the groin (Figs. 1C, 4A). The lateral stripe forms two separate blotches on the shoulder, one circular and enclosed entirely by orange to yellow coloration, while the other is elongated and wraps partly around the other. The remaining length of the lateral stripe is wavy edged or broken. On the ventral surface, males are cream with orange flushes on the belly, hindlimbs, and the length of the tail during the breeding season. A dark chest patch tapers to a point midbody and sometimes extends along the undersides of the forelimbs. This dark patch may vary in intensity, from black to gray. Male throat coloration in mainland populations is ultraviolet-blue with yellow to orange coloration along the gular fold (Fig. 1A); in Kangaroo Island populations, the base blue color is overlain with yellow reticulations (McLean et al., 2014a; Fig. 1B).

Adult females are cryptically colored, predominantly gray-brown to orange-brown, densely patterned with darker and lighter speckling (Fig. 4B) and sometimes a thin, pale vertebral line. Similar to males, a black lateral stripe runs along the flanks, similar in shape to that of males but sometimes less prominent. White to cream on the ventral surface. Varying degrees of gray reticulations on the throat, sometimes with a blue tinge. Orange to yellow flushes on the belly and gular region during the breeding season. Juveniles resemble adult females in coloration and pattern. Color patterning remains visible in fresh spirit-preserved specimens but fades with time.

Measurements (mm) and meristic characters of lectotype.—(Bilateral meristics as left [L] and right [R]) SVL, 80; TL, 146.5; AGL, 37; HL, 25; HW, 19.5; HD, 11.5; EYE, 4.7; SL, 9.3; JL, 13.5; NW, 6.5; HUML, 14; RADL, 11.5; HANL, 14; FINL, 10.5; FEML, 17.6; TIBL, 21.3; FOOT, 30.1; TOE, 16.5; SUPRA, 15R/14L; INFRA, 18R/17L; ROSNAS, 5R/5L; SUPRANAS, 5R/5L; INTERNAS, 11; SDL, 30R/NA-L; FP, 24R/21L.

Distribution and natural history.—Ctenophorus decresii inhabits rocky areas and outcrops, sheltering in rock crevices. The species occurs in the Mount Lofty Ranges, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, and on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, Australia (Figs. 2C, 3A, 6). These lizards occupy temperate habitats with varying levels of vegetation. Adults occur almost exclusively on rocks, perching conspicuously on elevated sites to bask and/or perform territorial and courtship displays. They are active in hot weather and, if disturbed, will run into a crevice or beneath a rock slab.

Amphibolurus modestus (Ahl, 1926: 187–188).

Amphibolurus decresii ‘northern race’ (Houston, 1974: 52).

Ctenophorus decresii ‘northern lineage’ (McLean et al., 2013: 52).

Types.—The original description was based on two syntypes, both from ‘Australien’ and registered as ZMB30092 (Ahl, 1926). We designate the subadult male as lectotype (now registered as ZMB 54516; Fig. 5B) and the adult female as paralectotype (ZMB 30092; Fig. S3; see Data Accessibility) because only the male exhibits the diagnostic coloration. No exact locality is available for these specimens.

Diagnosis.—Ctenophorus modestus is a member of the C. decresii species group (Houston, 1974; Houston and Hutchinson, 1998). Within the C. decresii species group, C. modestus is distinguishable by the following combination of characters: snout scales smooth to longitudinally keeled; vertebral scales flat; a smooth-edged dark lateral stripe, sometimes interrupted to form a separate blotch posterior to the tympanum; and in males, throat coloration is polymorphic (orange, yellow, orange-yellow, or gray) with or without an overlay of gray reticulations and a small central black patch. Description.—A moderately sized lizard reaching a maximum SVL of approximately 85 mm and total length of 255 mm. Head and body depressed. Tail long and tapered to a fine tip. Forelimbs moderately long, almost reaching groin when adpressed. Hindlimbs long and reaching or almost reaching snout when adpressed. Finger lengths: 4 . 3 . 5 . 2 . 1; toe lengths: 4 . 3 . 5 . 2 . 1. Characteristic of the genus, a distinct row of enlarged keeled scales extending from the nostril, below the eye to above the tympanum (Houston and Hutchinson, 1998). Ear membranes exposed and scale-free. Scales on snout are smooth to longitudinally keeled. 13–18 supralabial scales; 13–18 infralabial scales; 4–6 scales between rostral and nasal; 4–6 scales between supralabial and nasal; 9–13 internasal scales; 19–27 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe (McLean et al., 2013). Small clustered pale yellow to orange spines anterior to tympanum. Dorsal crest is small, no more than a series of keeled scales, becoming smaller posteriorly and not reaching base of tail. Nuchal crest low or absent. Scales on the dorsal surfaces of the limbs and tail are keeled. The gular fold is strongly developed and extends across the shoulders. 34–45 femoral and precloacal pores are arranged in a straight line along the thighs. Pores are present but smaller in females.

Adult male base color varies from gray-blue to brown, with pale blue flanks (Figs. 1H, 4C). The dorsolateral surface of the head is brown, with orange around the eyes, nostrils, and along the upper jaw, and beneath the tympanum terminating at the neck. The extent of this coloration varies among individuals and depends on location. A broad black lateral stripe begins posterior to the eye, becoming thicker posterior to the tympanum and terminating at the groin. A thin cream, yellow, or orange stripe begins at the tympanum and terminates just posterior to the shoulder (Figs. 1H, 4C). On the ventral surface, males are cream with orange flushes on the belly, hindlimbs, and the length of the tail during the breeding season. A dark chest patch tapers to a point midbody and sometimes extends along the undersides of the forelimbs. This dark patch may vary in intensity, from black to gray. Male throat coloration varies among individuals with distinct gray, orange, yellow, and orange-yellow morphs (Teasdale et al., 2013; Fig. 1D–G). Base throat color sometimes overlain with gray reticulations or with a distinct black mark in the center of the throat.

Adult females are cryptically colored, predominantly gray-brown to orange-brown, densely patterned with darker and lighter speckling (Fig. 4D) and sometimes a thin, pale vertebral line. Similar to males, a black lateral stripe runs along the flanks, but sometimes less prominently than in males. White to cream on the ventral surface, with varying degrees of gray reticulations on the throat. Orange to yellow flushes on the belly and gular region during the breeding season. Juveniles resemble adult females in coloration and pattern. Color patterning remains visible in fresh spirit-preserved specimens but fades with time.

Measurements (mm) and meristic characters of lectotype.—(Bilateral meristics as left [L] and right [R]) SVL, 52.9; TL, 95.6; AGL, 24.3; HL, 18.1; HW, 14.0; HD, 7.8; EYE, 3.8; SL, 6.6; JL, 8.3; NW, 5.3; HUML, 7.7; RADL, 8.5; HANL, 11.7; FINL, 5.6; FEML, 14.5; TIBL, 17.4; FOOT, 21.3; TOE, 11.5; SUPRA, 15L/16R; INFRA, 18L/19R; ROSNAS, 4–5L,5R; SUPRANAS, 4L/3–4R; INTERNAS, 12; SDL, 25L/25R; FP, 22L/20R.

Distribution and natural history.—Ctenophorus modestus inhabits rocky areas and outcrops, sheltering in rock crevices, similar to other members of the C. decresii group (Gibbons, 1979). The species occurs throughout the Flinders and Olary Ranges in South Australia, Australia (Figs. 2C, 3A, 6). These lizards occupy habitats ranging from well-watered to semiarid, with sparse vegetation and are active in hot weather (Houston, 1974; Gibbons, 1979). Adults occur almost exclusively on rocks, but juveniles may be found among surrounding vegetation up to 100 meters away (Houston, 1974; Gibbons and Lillywhite, 1981). Adults perch conspicuously on elevated sites to bask and/or perform territorial and courtship displays (Gibbons, 1979). If disturbed, they will run into a crevice or beneath a rock slab. Predators are predominantly birds but likely also include elapid snakes (Gibbons and Lillywhite, 1981; Stuart-Fox et al., 2004).

Comparisons among species in the C. decresii complex

Similar species.—Members of the C. decresii species group differ most markedly in male coloration and geographic distribution. The distribution of C. modestus does not overlap with four other species in the C. decresii species group (C. decresii, C. mirrityana, C. rufescens, C. tjantjalka). The dorsal color pattern of C. modestus is very similar to that of C. mirrityana which occurs in the Barrier Ranges of western New South Wales, but can be distinguished by the absence of a thinner non-continuous orange stripe within the black lateral stripe, absence of a dark median throat stripe in males, and a larger head relative to SVL (McLean et al., 2013). Ctenophorus tjantjalka occurs in the low stony hills and eroded creek lines of the Lake Eyre Basin in northern South Australia and has a shorter, deeper head relative to C. modestus. Male C. tjantjalka are uniform light blue above with salmon flanks and lack the dark lateral stripe of C. modestus. Ctenophorus rufescens occurs primarily in the granitic ranges of north-western South Australia. Both sexes of C. rufescens are rusty to medium brown, lacking both the bright yellow, orange, or blue coloring on the head of male C. modestus and the dark lateral stripe in juvenile and female C. modestus. It is most likely that C. modestus may be confused with C. fionni, which occurs west of Spencer Gulf and Lake Torrens in South Australia. Male C. fionni exhibit extensive geographic variation in coloration (Houston, 1974) and do not differ consistently in any morphological trait from C. modestus. Available keys (e.g., Cogger, 2018) differentiate between C. modestus and C. fionni based on the presence of scattered pale tubercules on the flanks on the former; however, this is primarily diagnostic of C. decresii sensu stricto. Additional diagnostic traits are needed to allow C. fionni to be distinguished from most other members of the C. decresii group independent of a collection locality.

In the northern-most part of its geographic range, C. modestus occurs in sympatry with C. vadnappa. These species can be distinguished by adult male coloration, juvenile and female coloration, and morphology of the snout and vertebral scales. Adult male C. vadnappa have red variegations on the sides of the body that tend to align in vertical bars and no dark lateral stripe, whereas adult male C. modestus lack red reticulations and have a dark lateral stripe. Juvenile and adult female C. vadnappa also lack the dark lateral stripe, which is present in C. modestus. Ctenophorus vadnappa have wrinkled snout scales, whereas the snout scales are keeled in C. modestus. In C. vadnappa, the vertebral scales are keeled, whereas they are smooth in C. modestus.

There are notable differences in male throat coloration between C. modestus and C. decresii sensu stricto. Male C. modestus have orange, yellow, orange-yellow, or gray throats (Fig. 1D–G), whereas male C. decresii have blue throats (Fig. 1A–B). The black lateral stripe is relatively straight-edged in C. modestus compared with the irregular edge in C. decresii (Fig. 1C, H). Ctenophorus modestus and C. decresii also differ significantly in six morphological characters, with both sexes of C. modestus having higher SVLs (C. modestus male: 66.3–84.6 mm, female: 65.1–82.9 mm; C. decresii male: 65.2–77.5, mm female: 61.9–74.13 mm), greater numbers of supralabial (C. modestus male: 13–18, female: 13–17; C. decresii male: 12–16, female: 12–18) and infralabial scales (C. modestus male: 13–18, female: 14–18; C. decresii male: 12–16, female: 11–16), and males of C. modestus having longer jaws (C. modestus male: 0.16–0.21 mm; C. decresii male: 0.15–0.2 mm; values adjusted for SVL), deeper heads (C. modestus male: 0.13–0.18 mm, C. decresii male: 0.13–0.17 mm; values adjusted for SVL), and fewer femoral pores (C. modestus male: 34–45; C. decresii male: 40–46; McLean et al., 2013).

Conservation status.—Ctenophorus decresii (including C. modestus) is currently classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2012; Melville et al., 2018). The taxonomic separation of the northern and southern lineages into C. modestus and C. decresii, respectively, warrants a reevaluation of each species' conservation status. Both have distributions that are more restricted than the original distribution of C. decresii sensu lato. To measure the extent of occurrence (km²) for C. modestus and C. decresii sensu stricto, we drew minimum convex polygons encompassing occurrences based on all specimens in Australian Museums, downloaded from the Atlas of Living Australia. The extent of occurrence for C. modestus is 49,102 km² (Fig. 6) and falls almost entirely within the Flinders Lofty Block (FLB) bioregion as delineated by the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA version 7; Department of the Environment, 2012). The extent of occurrence for C. decresii is 6,604 km² (mainland: 5,772 km²; Kangaroo Island: 832 km²; Fig. 6), distributed within both the FLB and Kanmantoo (KAN) bioregions. The FLB and KAN bioregions consist of 8.9% and 20.3% protected areas (CAPAD, 2018; Table 3). However, the distributions of C. modestus and C. decresii overlap minimally with protected areas, except in the northern Flinders Ranges and on Kangaroo Island (Fig. 6).

The species is locally abundant in suitable habitat in the southern Flinders Ranges and Olary Ranges (Gibbons and Lillywhite, 1981); however, suitable rocky habitat is fragmented and most vegetation has been cleared in the southern part of their range. Further, the population of C. modestus north of Blinman (31°05′37.1″S, 138°40′41″E) in the northern Flinders Ranges is predicted to decline under future climate scenarios (Walker et al., 2014). The IUCN assessment acknowledges a decreasing population trend due to this range contraction (Melville et al., 2018). A better understanding of temporal variation in population density is needed to assess population trends in the northern part of the geographic distribution of both species.

Ctenophorus decresii may merit conservation management due to its more restricted and fragmented distribution. The total extent of occurrence for the species is less than 20,000 km² (i.e., 6,604 km²). Further, the habitat is fragmented, given that the species occurs only in rocky areas with low to moderate vegetation cover (criteria B1-a). Ctenophorus decresii is particularly vulnerable to habitat loss due to human development and bush rock removal (Michael et al., 2010). Although the FLB and KAN bioregions have both experienced grazing pressure from sheep, cattle, and feral goats leading to habitat degradation and clearing, it has occurred more severely in the KAN bioregion (Environment Australia, 2000; Bastin, 2008). Therefore, C. decresii likely has a higher risk conservation status than C. modestus. Land clearing has had detrimental impacts on genetic variation in ecologically similar species (Driscoll, 2004; Driscoll and Hardy, 2005; Levy et al., 2010), and vegetation clearance around rock outcrops reduces dispersal between patches of suitable habitat in saxicolous species (Stow et al., 2001; Levy et al., 2010).

Bush rock removal has been implicated in the decline of several threatened reptile species (Michael et al., 2010; Fitzsimons and Michael, 2017; Michael and Lindenmayer, 2018). Additionally, habitat loss and fragmentation resulting from agriculture creates remnant edge habitats where reptiles experience significantly higher predation risk (Hansen et al., 2019). Furthermore, the degree to which populations of C. decresii have been impacted by recent extensive bushfires on Kangaroo Island and in Cudlee Creek on the mainland (ca. December 2019–January 2020) are still unknown. Although continued monitoring is necessary, the bushfires are likely to negatively impact many subcriteria of B1-b (i–ii: geographic range, iii: area, extent, and/or quality of habitat, iv: number of locations or subpopulations, v: number of mature individuals).

Throat polymorphism.—The throat color polymorphism in C. modestus is well characterized by a large body of literature. Throat coloration is a sexual signal, develops before sexual maturity, is fixed for life, and does not vary with body size (Gibbons and Lillywhite, 1981; Stuart-Fox, 2002), and may function in rival recognition (Osborne et al., 2012). Four discrete male throat morphs (i.e., orange, yellow, orange-yellow, gray) are present in all surveyed populations (Teasdale et al., 2013) with morph frequencies influenced by local environmental conditions (mean annual aridity index and vegetation cover; McLean et al., 2015). The four morphs employ different behavioral strategies, with the gray and orange morphs being the least and most aggressive and bold, respectively, and the yellow morph's behavior dependent on the competitor's morph (Yewers et al., 2016). These alternative behavioral strategies also correspond to different hormone profiles (Yewers et al., 2017). Throat morphs are associated with MHC supertypes with gray morphs twice as likely to possess supertype four (Hacking et al., 2018).

The genetic and biochemical basis of throat coloration in C. modestus has been characterized. Throat morphs are autosomally inherited and controlled by at least two loci. The extent of orange or yellow within morphs behaves as a quantitative (polygenic) trait (Rankin et al., 2016). Orange and yellow skin coloration are produced from a combination of pteridine pigments (self-synthesized) and carotenoid pigments (acquired through the diet), whereas gray skin is produced from melanin pigments (McLean et al., 2017).

Ctenophorus modestus and C. decresii share tetrachromatic visual systems with well-developed color vision and no significant differences in spectral sensitivity or opsin expression (Yewers et al., 2015; Dong et al., 2019b). Throat morphs of C. modestus vary in conspicuousness, as perceived by agamid lizards (Teasdale et al., 2013). Gray morphs are the least chromatically conspicuous and orange and orange-yellow morphs are the most conspicuous against rock and lichen backgrounds. The throat colors of C. decresii and C. modestus are locally adapted to be more conspicuous against native lichen than non-native lichen as perceived by agamid lizards (McLean et al., 2014b).

Biology.—The mating season of C. modestus is from September to December. Females produce clutches of between 3–7 eggs, commonly laying two clutches in one breeding season (maximum of three clutches; Dong, Rankin, McLean, Stuart-Fox, unpubl.). At oviposition, eggs have a mass of 1.16±0.19 g (mean±SE) and offspring hatch in 52–65 days when incubated at 28–28.5°C (Rankin et al., 2016; Dong et al., unpubl.). There are low rates of multiple paternity within clutches: a 4.3% rate (1 in 23 clutches) in a wild population (Hacking et al., 2017), and rates of 3.7% (1 in 27 clutches; Dong et al., unpubl.) and 0% (0 in 25 clutches; Rankin et al., 2016) in captive populations. An incubation temperature of 28.5°C yielded a sex ratio of 1:0.72 (males:females; n = 58, 3 unsexed; Rankin et al., 2016) and 28°C yielded a sex ratio of 1:0.57 (males:females; n = 58, 11 unsexed; Dong et al., unpubl.). It is not definitively known whether the species exhibits genetic sex determination (GSD) or temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Previous studies on the reproductive biology of C. decresii sensu lato demonstrating TSD in the species were conducted on individuals from New South Wales (Harlow, 2000; McFadden and Harlow, 2007), which have since been re-classified as C. mirrityana (McLean et al., 2013). Dragon lizards in the family Agamidae include both GSD and TSD species, with both occurring within the same genera (see references in Ezaz et al., 2009). Further empirical studies are needed to establish the sex-determining mechanisms of both C. modestus and C. decresii.

Few published studies have focused solely on C. decresii sensu stricto. The species has a similar breeding season of September–December. Females produce one clutch per breeding season (rarely a second clutch) of between 3–6 eggs (Dong et al., unpubl.). At oviposition, eggs have a mass of 1.51±0.21 g and will hatch in 57–61 days when incubated at 28±0.12°C (mean±SE; Dong et al., unpubl.). There was no evidence for multiple paternity from 14 clutches in a captive population (Dong et al., unpubl.), and an incubation temperature of 28°C yielded a sex ratio of 1:0.71 (males:females; n = 58, 11 unsexed; Dong et al., unpubl.).