Gould's monitor lizard
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Gould's monitor lizard ( Varanus gouldii ) |
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| Varanus gouldii | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1838 |
Gould's monitor lizard ( Varanus gouldii ) is a large species of lizard from Australia and southern New Guinea . It becomes 1.40 meters long, the head-torso length is a maximum of 67 centimeters in males and 43 centimeters in females. The animals can reach a weight of 5 kg.
There are three subspecies:
- V. gouldii gouldii , lives in the far north of Western Australia and the Northern Territory , as well as on some islands off the Australian north coast.
- V. gouldii hornii occurs in southern New Guinea.
- V. gouldii rubidus , lives in central Western Australia.
The populations on the islands of the Torres Strait have not yet been assigned to any subspecies.
Way of life
V. gouldii gouldii lives mainly on rivers, in mangroves and on the seashore and is rarely found further than 200 meters from the nearest water. He often creates his self-dug earth caves on the banks of dried up rivers. V. gouldii rubidus lives in much drier areas. He digs caves in the ground that can be 1.30 meters deep. Its way of life is largely unknown, as is that of V. gouldii hornii .
nutrition
Gould's monitor feeds on small mammals , birds , smaller reptiles ( snakes , skinks , agamas , small monitor lizards), the eggs of birds, lizards and turtles , frogs and crabs. On occasion it also eats carrion, including the carcasses of larger animals such as kangaroos .
Reproduction
Gould's monitor lizard reproduces in the rainy season. The only clutch in the year contains a maximum of 11 to 13 eggs. In a captive breeding facility, the young monitors hatched at a breeding temperature of 28 ° C after 210 to 229 days and were then 30 centimeters long. In the case of V. gouldii gouldii , however, a length of 10.5 centimeters was given for the hatchlings.
Gould's monitor lizard in an upright position
tongue out
Gould's Monitor Lizard in Murray Sunset National Park
dark Goulds monitor lizard
literature
- Daniel Bennett: Monitor lizards of the world, world of monitor lizards. Edition Chimaira, ISBN 3-930612-05-4
Web links
- Varanus gouldii horni in the zoo
- Goulds monitor lizard out-look photo gallery
- Varanus gouldii in The Reptile Database
- Varanus gouldii subspecies rosenbergi inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: Bennett, D. & Sweet, SS, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2013.