Ctenotus leae, also known commonly as the Centralian coppertail, Lea's ctenotus, and the orange-tailed finesnout skink, is a species of lizard in the subfamily Sphenomorphinae of the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Etymology

The specific name, leae, is in honor of the Rev. T.E. Lea who sent the holotype to Boulenger.

Description

C. leae may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 6 cm (2.4 in).

Geographic range

C. leae is found in the Australian states of Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, and the Australian internal territory of the Northern Territory.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of C. leae are grassland and desert.

Behavior

C. leae is terrestrial.

Reproduction

C. leae is oviparous. The clutch size is usually three or four eggs.

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Scincidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I–XL. (Lygosoma leae, new species, pp. 226–227 + Plate XII, figure 2).
  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Smith MA (1937). "A Review of the Genus Lygosoma (Scincidae: Reptilia) and its Allies". Records of the Indian Museum 39 (3): 213–234. (Lygosoma leae, p. 220).