Pilbara monitor

Pilbara monitor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Family:Varanidae
Genus:Varanus
Subgenus:Odatria
Species: V. bushi
Binomial name
Varanus bushi
Aplin, A. Fitch & D. King, 2006[1]

The Pilbara monitor (Varanus bushi ), also known as Bush's monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Australia.

Etymology

The specific name, bushi, and the common name, Bush's monitor, are in honor of Australian naturalist and herpetologist Brian Gordon Bush (born 1947).[2]

Taxonomy

Varanus bushi belongs to the subgenus Odatria.[3]

Description

Varanus bushi is most similar to the stripe-tailed goanna and the pygmy Mulga goanna of all monitor lizards. However, the Pilbara monitor can be distinguished from these other two species by some morphological and genetic differences.[4]

Habitat and geographic range

The Pilbara monitor inhabits the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Behavior

Details about the behavior of Varanus bushi are relatively unknown.

References

  1. ↑ Monitor-lizards.net Archived 19 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 11 February 2010).
  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 bushi, p. 44).
  3. ↑ Koch, André; Auliya, Mark; Ziegler, Thomas (2010). "Updated checklist of the living monitor lizards of the world (Squamata: Varanidae)". Bonn Zool. Bull. 57 (2): 127-136.
  4. ↑ JCVI.org (Retrieved 11 February 2010).

Further reading

  • Aplin KP, Fitch AJ, King DJ (2006)."A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species". Zootaxa 1313: 1–38.
  • Eidenmüller B (2007). "Small monitors in the terrarium". Reptilia (GB) (50): 12-19.
  • King, Ruth Allen; Pianka, Eric R.; King, Dennis (2004). Varanoid Lizards of the World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 225–229. ISBN 0-253-34366-6.
  • King, Dennis; Green, Brian (1999). Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0-86840-456-X.


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