The Kimberley rock monitor (''Varanus glauerti'') is a medium-sized
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
monitor lizard["''Varanus glauerti'' " at Monitor-lizards.net](_blank)
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Varanidae
The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea within the Anguimorpha group. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous lizards, includes the living genus '' Varanus'' and a number of extinct genera more closely rel ...
. The species is native to
Northern Australia
The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...
. Also known as Glauert's monitor or the Kakadu sand goanna,
[ it belongs to the subgenus ''Odatria''.Kingsnake.com]
/ref>
Etymology
The specific name, ''glauerti'', is in honor of English-born Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
herpetologist
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and rep ...
Ludwig Glauert
Ludwig Glauert MBE (5 May 1879 – 1 February 1963) was a British-born Australian paleontologist, herpetologist and museum curator. He is known for work on Pleistocene mammal fossils, and as a museum curator who played an important role in na ...
.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ]
. (''Varanus glauerti'', p. 101).
Description
''Varanus glauerti'' grows up to long, and three-quarters of its length is the long tail.
Habitat and behaviour
''Varanus glauerti'' lives almost exclusively on rocky cliff faces, but is found in humid forests. It is rupicolous, and prefers humid conditions.
References
Further reading
* Mertens R (1957). "Two new goannas from Australia". ''Western Australian Naturalist'' 5: 183–185. (''Varanus timorensis glauerti'', new subspecies).
External links
Reptiliana.wordpress.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2713236
Varanus
Reptiles of Western Australia
Reptiles described in 1957
Reptiles of the Northern Territory
Monitor lizards of Australia
Taxa named by Robert Mertens