Southern Pilbara rock monitor

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Southern Pilbara rock monitor
Systematics
without rank: Toxicofera
without rank: Sneaky (Anguimorpha)
Family : Varanidae
Genre : Monitor lizards ( varanus )
Subgenus : Odatria
Type : Southern Pilbara rock monitor
Scientific name
Varanus hamersleyensis
Maryan , Oliver , Fitch & O'Connell , 2014

The Southern Pilbara Felsenwaran ( Varanus hamersleyensis ) is in Australia living monitor species of the subgenus Odatria . The first description of Varanus hamersleyensis was made in 2014 by Brad Maryan, Paul M. Oliver, Alison J. Fitch and Morgan O'Connell.

Physique and appearance

The total body length of the small rock-dwelling monitor lizard is up to 50 cm. The upper side is colored dark red-brown with a pattern of spots over the back. The dark brown spots usually have a pale central spot. These spots are arranged as transverse bands. Their limbs are spotted on their top. Their tail is irregularly covered with narrow, pale and dark red-brown bands. Sometimes a fuzzy dark temporal streak is visible. The ventral side is marked whitish with delicate gray spots and sometimes irregular bands. The scales of the head are smooth and small. The upward nostril is on the side of the head and is located approximately in the middle between the tip of the snout and the eye . 118 - 128 rows of scales are lined up around the middle of the body. The tail is more or less round in cross section. The tail scales on the sides and top are slightly keeled.

distribution

The southern Pilbara rock monitor lives in the southern part of Pilbara ( Western Australia ). In fact, they live in the Hamersley Range . The Hamersley Range is a mountain region, the highest point of which is up to 1250 m above sea level. The scientific name hamersleyensis is derived from the (Hamersley) range. The southern Pilbara rock monitors also live in the Karijini National Park , which surrounds the Hamersley Range.

Way of life

The habitat of V. hamersleyensis is limited to the rock massifs and gorges of the mountain range it is home to . They inhabit the rugged areas of the Hamersley Range . Their food sources are mainly insects and arachnids , which the monitor lizard catches in the crevices.

Systematics

In the past, V. hamersleyensis and V. pilbarensis were considered to be one and the same species. Varanus pilbarensis Storr 1980 is a mountain monitor that is specialized in the mountains and, like the southern Pilbara rock monitor, is endemic to the Pilbara region . It was only in 2014 that these two species were separated from each other because they have genetic and morphological differences. The southern Pilbara rock monitor occurs only in the southern part of Pilbaras and Varanus pilbarensis only in the northern part. Recent research has found that V. pilbarensis is paler and noticeable, has large gray eye spots on the back and sides of the body and has a strong black banded pattern.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Brad Maryan, Paul M. Oliver, Alison J. Fitch, Morgan O'Connell: Molecular and Morphological Assessment of Varanus pilbarensis (Squamata: Varanidae), with a description of a new species from the southern Pilbara, Western Australia. 2014. Zootaxa 3768 (2): 139-158.
  2. ↑ biologicenv.com.au

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