Spencer's goanna

Spencer's goanna
Cologne Zoological Garden
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Anguimorpha
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 exhibits 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. 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. 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 Victoria15: 145–147. (Varanus spenceri, new species, pp. 145–146).
• Mertens R (1958). "Bemerkungen über die Warane Australiens ". Senckenbergiana biologica39: 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.

External links

• Media related to Varanus spenceri at Wikimedia Commons
• Photos at Kingsnake.com