Spencer's goanna
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2020) |
| Spencer's goanna | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Varanidae |
| Genus: | Varanus |
| Subgenus: | Varanus |
| Species: | V. spenceri
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| Binomial name | |
| Varanus spenceri Lucas & C. Frost, 1903
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Spencer's goanna (Varanus spenceri), also known commonly as Spencer's monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Etymology[]
The specific name, spenceri, is in honor of English-Australian biologist Walter Baldwin Spencer.[2]
Geographic range[]
Varanus spenceri is found in eastern Northern Territory and northwestern Queensland, Australia.[3]
It is native to the Barkly Tableland.[citation needed]
Description[]
Varanus spenceri 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[]
Varanus spenceri 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 behavior[]
When threatened, V. spenceri hisses loudly, distends its throat and whips its aggressor with its muscular tail.[citation needed]
Habitat[]
The preferred natural habitat of V. spenceri 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.[4]
Taxonomy[]
Varanus ingrami Boulenger, 1906, is an invalid name (a junior synonym) for this species.[3]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b , , (2018). "Varanus spenceri ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T83778868A101752365. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T83778868A101752365.en. Downloaded on 01 June 2020.
- ^ 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).
- ^ Jump up to: a b Species Varanus spenceri at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ 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 Victoria 15: 145–147. (Varanus spenceri, new species, pp. 145–146).
- Mertens R (1958). "Bemerkungen über die Warane Australiens ". Senckenbergiana biologica 39: 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
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- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Reptiles of Queensland
- Reptiles described in 1903
- Reptiles of the Northern Territory
- Monitor lizards of Australia
- Lizard stubs