Spencer's goanna

Spencer's goanna
Cologne Zoological Garden
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Varanus
Species:
V. spenceri
Binomial name
Varanus spenceri
Lucas & C. Frost, 1903

Spencer's goanna (Varanus spenceri), also known commonly as Spencer's monitor, is a species of Australian monitor lizard.

Etymology

The specific name, spenceri, is in honour of English-Australian biologist Walter Baldwin Spencer.[2]

Geographic range

Queensland, Australia

Spencer's goanna is found in eastern Northern Territory and northwestern Queensland, Australia.[3]

It is native to the Barkly Tableland.[citation needed]

Description

Spencer's goanna can grow to a total length (including tail) of up to 120 cm (47 in). Spencer's monitor is generally heavier than a similarly sized monitor of another species due to its "stockier" build. It has sharp claws which it uses for digging burrows.[citation needed]

Diet

Spencer's goanna eats anything it can find, including highly venomous snakes, small mammals, small lizards, eggs, and carrion (dead animals), and is able to digest anything it eats.[citation needed]

Defensive behaviour

Spencer's goanna has unusual defensive behaviour, where it feigns death when threatened; the body is flattened against the ground, one hind limb is extended while all other limbs held close to the body, and the tail is contorted into a wavy shape. The head is kept up to observe the threat, feigning death until the threat has left the area. [4]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of Spencer's goanna is grassland.[1]

Living in black soil plains with no trees, Spencer's goanna is the only Australian monitor that does not readily climb, although juvenile animals will climb given the opportunity.[citation needed]

Reproduction

Clutch size of Spencer's monitor generally ranges between 11 and 30 eggs.[5]

Taxonomy

Varanus ingrami Boulenger, 1906, is an invalid name (a junior synonym) for this species.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Shea, G.; Hobson, R.; Amey, A. (2018). "Varanus spenceri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T83778868A101752365. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T83778868A101752365.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Varanus spenceri, p. 250).
  3. ^ a b Species Varanus spenceri at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. ^ Shannon, Rod (2008). "Observations on Three Species of Varanus in Ilfracombe, Queensland". Biawak. 2 (2): 85–86.
  5. ^ Varanus spenceri

Further reading

  • Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. ISBN 978-0643100350.
  • Lucas AHS, Frost C (1903). "Descriptions of two new Australian Lizards, Varanus spencer and Diplodactylus bilineatus ". Proceedins of the Royal Society of Victoria 15: 145–147. (Varanus spenceri, new species, pp. 145–146).
  • Mertens R (1958). "Bemerkungen über die Warane Australiens ". Senckenbergiana biologica 39: 229–264. (in German).
  • Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. ISBN 978-1921517280.


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