Western Ring-tailed Dragon

Ctenophorus caudicinctus are recognized for their bright colours, their survival tactics, and sexual dimorphism. Males display brighter colours than females to make themselves more attractive to a mate. The colour of the lizard is also impacted by their age, season, and temperature of their body. The ring-tailed dragon is about 25–35 cm long and is differentiated from other lizards by the line of spines that curves beneath the eyes. The pattern of the ctenophorus caudicinctus can range from a pale beige to dark orange. They have distinctive banding around the tail and a white to yellow underbelly. They have a short crest of nuchal spines that varies in colour.

Ctenophorus caudicinctus is found in places with low vegetation, rocky and arid. Ctenophorus caudicinctus is highly territorial. They are mostly found in Hameresly ranges in Western Australia, the Pilbara, MacDonnell, James and Musgrave Ranges.

Owing to the ctenophorus caudicinctus being a diurnal and saxicolous lizard species living in rocky areas, the species is insectivorous. They consume mostly arthropods, termites and ants. Occasionally they will eat some vegetative material. Termites can be found in large numbers in one spot. Ctenophorus caudicinctus needs to be wary about ant eating lizards. They eat the skin of the ants. Ctenophorus caudicinctus primarily waits for their prey in sheltered rocks and burrows. Ctenophorus caudicinctus are ambush predators. They catch their predators with strategy, rather than attacking.

Ctenophorus is the largest genus of lizards in Australia. Ctenephorus comes from Ancient Greek κτείς (kteís), meaning "comb", and φόρος (phóros), meaning "bearing", and caudicinctus means ring-tailed in Latin. Many of these species have been grouped by similar morphology and have been given informal names derived from mythological creatures.