Kings' monitor

Kings' monitor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Lacertilia
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: V. (Odatria)
Species: V. kingorum
Binomial name
Varanus kingorum
Storr, 1980[1]

Kings' monitor or Kings' goanna (Varanus kingorum), is a species of small monitor lizards. It is also known as Kings' rock monitor; it is found in Australia. Specifically, it is endemic to the northwestern part of the Northern Territory, and the northeastern part of Western Australia. It belongs to the subgenus Odatria[2] along with the peacock monitor and the Pilbara monitor. Comparatively little is known about this species.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, kingorum (genetive plural), is in honor of Canadian-born Australian ecologist Richard Dennis King (1942-2002) and Australian geneticist Max King (born 1946).[4]

Habitat

Kings' goanna inhabits rocky outcrops of the Kimberley Region and adjacent areas.[5] It is usually found in areas with rock exfoliations or slopes with open bushland and shrubs, where boulders and outcrops provide its required microhabitat.[6] V. kingorum is also found in grasslands.[7]

Description

Varanus kingorum is one of the smallest species of monitor lizards, reaching a total length of up to 40 cm.[8] It is basically brown in colour with a black reticulum in the juvenile that breaks down with age to form dark flecks and spots.[3]

Behaviour and diet

Kings' monitors retreat into holes, rock fissures, and small crevices when they are approached, being extremely shy.[6]

They appear to feed exclusively on insects, including locusts, termites, and insect eggs.[3]

References

  1. "ITIS.gov". Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Mampam.com Viewed 12 May 2010
  3. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Varanus kingorum, p. 141).
  4. JCVI.org (Retrieved 11 May. 2010).
  5. 1 2 Reptilob.de
  6. Varanus.nl

Further reading


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