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Pilbara Rock Monitor
The Pilbara rock monitor (''Varanus pilbarensis'') is a small member of the family Varanidae endemic to the Chichester Range in North West Australia. Taxonomy The population was described in 1980 by Glenn Storr, selecting a specimen collected in 1971 by J. C. Wombey at the Chichester gorge as the holotype of a new species. A population to the south was identified as a sister species, and a new description ''Varanus hamersleyensis'' was published in 2014. The characteristics of this species, which originally included several specimens to the south of the Fortescue River, were redefined to distinguish it from those in the Hamersley Range. Description A species of '' Varanus'', carnivorous reptiles, that is predominately reddish in colour and favours rocky habitat. Their size is relatively small, with a total length not exceeding 470 millimetres. ''Varanus pilbarensis'' tails are up to twice the length of the snout to vent measurement, rounded and with strong band markings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glen Milton Storr
Dr. Glen Milton Storr (22 December 1921 – 26 June 1990) was an Australian ornithologist and herpetologist. He joined the Western Australian Museum in 1962 and became Curator of Ornithology and Herpetology in 1965. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), and served as Secretary of the Western Australian Branch of the RAOU in 1954. Storr produced his postgraduate research on kangaroos. His tenure as curator at the WA museum ended in 1986. Career Storr was born in Adelaide in 1921, and had become a cadet land surveyor with the South Australian Lands Department in 1939. World War II interrupted his training when he joined the Australian Infantry in 1942, serving with the Second Ninth Field Regiment in New Guinea and Queensland (1943-1945) Following the war, he became a licensed surveyor in South Australia in 1947. Legacy Storr was one of the most prolific alpha-taxonomists in herpetology, i.e. he described 232 species and subspecies of repti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 related to ''Varanus'' than to the earless monitor lizard (''Lanthanotus''). ''Varanus'' includes the Komodo dragon (the largest living lizard), crocodile monitor, savannah monitor, the goannas of Australia and Southeast Asia, and various other species with a similarly distinctive appearance. Their closest living relatives are the earless monitor lizard and chinese crocodile lizard. The oldest members of the family are known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Taxonomy The Varanidae were defined (using morphological characteristics) by Estes, de Queiroz and Gauthier (1988) as the clade containing the most recent common ancestor of '' Lanthanotus'' and ''Varanus'' and all of its descendants. A similar definition was formulated by Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chichester Range
The Chichester Range is a range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range rises abruptly from the coastal plain and is composed of rolling hills, escarpments, jagged peaks, gorges and winding tree-lined watercourses. The range is best described as an escarpment with a height of forming a tableland behind that slope gently to the south until it runs into the Hamersley Range. The steep escarpment is defined by a jumble of weathered basalts and granophyres. The highest point of the Chichester Range is Mount Herbert, with a height of . The peak takes about 45 minutes to climb and a car park is at the base of the peak. The peak is also on the route of the Chichester Range Camel trail, a tourist attraction that is operated on the range that finishes at Python's Pool. The range is part of the Millstream-Chichester National Park, along with Millstream station that is one of the few permanent watercourses in the area. Geologically the range is made up of a mixture of sand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North West Australia
The North West, North West Coast, North Western Australia and North West Australia, are usually informal names for the northern regions of the State of Western Australia. However, some conceptions of "North West Australia" have included adjoining parts of the Northern Territory (NT) – or even the entire NT (see below). Major offshore islands include Barrow Island, Monte Bello Islands and the Dampier Archipelago. Apart from land areas, the term "North West" is also used for seabed oil and gas fields of the North West Shelf. Definitions The whole area north of the Murchison River was designated the North District by land regulations gazetted in 1862 by the government of the Colony of Western Australia. From February 1865, the North District was officially administered by a Government Resident, Robert John Sholl, initially based in Camden Harbour, then moved to Roebourne in November 1865. The North-West Land Division, created by legislation in 1887, includes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glenn Storr
Dr. Glen Milton Storr (22 December 1921 – 26 June 1990) was an Australian ornithologist and herpetologist. He joined the Western Australian Museum in 1962 and became Curator of Ornithology and Herpetology in 1965. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), and served as Secretary of the Western Australian Branch of the RAOU in 1954. Storr produced his postgraduate research on kangaroos. His tenure as curator at the WA museum ended in 1986. Career Storr was born in Adelaide in 1921, and had become a cadet land surveyor with the South Australian Lands Department in 1939. World War II interrupted his training when he joined the Australian Infantry in 1942, serving with the Second Ninth Field Regiment in New Guinea and Queensland (1943-1945) Following the war, he became a licensed surveyor in South Australia in 1947. Legacy Storr was one of the most prolific alpha-taxonomists in herpetology, i.e. he described 232 species and subspecies of re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several examples, but explicitly designated as the holotype. Under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), a holotype is one of several kinds of name-bearing types. In the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) and ICZN, the definitions of types are similar in intent but not identical in terminology or underlying concept. For example, the holotype for the butterfly '' Plebejus idas longinus'' is a preserved specimen of that subspecies, held by the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. In botany, an isotype is a duplicate of the holotype, where holotype and isotypes are often pieces from the same individual plant or samples from the same gathering. A holotype is not necessaril ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varanus Hamersleyensis
The Southern Pilbara rock goanna (''Varanus hamersleyensis''), also known as the Hamersley Range rock monitor, is a dwarf member of the family Varanidae. Taxonomy The first description of the species emerged from analysis of rock monitors found in the Pilbara region in the north-west of Australia, published in 2014. The study found distinction in coloration and molecular variation that indicated divergence in the southern group that justified separation from ''Varanus glauerti'' as a new species. The holotype is a specimen collected in the Hamersley Range in 2003 and previously assigned to the sister species, this was compared to other specimens and redescribed in the 2014 paper. All known specimens are from favoured habitat in the southern regions of the Pilbara, around the Hamersley range; the specific epithet ''hamersleyensis'' refers to this region. Description A species of '' Varanus'' somewhat resembling ''V. glauerti'', found to north, although darker, with whitish eye- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamersley Range
The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the northwest. Juukan Gorge lies within the ranges, as does Karijini National Park (formerly known as Hamersley Range National Park). History The traditional Aboriginal owners of the area that the range runs through are the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples. In 1999 a small range within the Hamersley was named the Hancock Range after the Hancock family, who were pioneers in the area. The Hancock range is east of Karijini National Park in a region of broad valleys and peaks that rise to almost . The Hancock Range is close to Mulga Downs Station, a property owned by the Hancock family and where Lang Hancock is buried. Geography The range runs from the Fortescue River in the northeast, to the south. The range contains Western ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilbara
The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna. Definitions of the Pilbara region At least two important but differing definitions of "the Pilbara" region exist. Administratively it is one of the nine regions of Western Australia defined by the '' Regional Development Commissions Act 1993''; the term also refers to the Pilbara shrublands bioregion (which differs in extent) under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA). General The Pilbara region, as defined by the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993 and administered for economic development purposes by the Pilbara Development Commission, has an estimated population of 61,688 , and covers an area of . It contains some of Earth's oldest rock formations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varanus Kingorum
Kings' monitor (''Varanus kingorum''), also known commonly as Kings' goanna, Kings' rock monitor and pygmy rock monitor, is a small species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to Australia. Geographic range ''Varanus kingorum'' is endemic to the northwestern part of the Northern Territory, and the northeastern part of Western Australia. Taxonomy The species description was published in 1980, the result of a revision of Western and Central Australian varanid taxa. Kings' monitor belongs to the subgenus ''Odatria'' along with the peacock monitor and the Pilbara monitor. Comparatively little is known about this species. The holotype was collected beneath rocks in 1978 at Timber Creek in the Northern Territory by Max King. The specific name, ''kingorum'' (genitive plural), is in honor of Canadian-born Australian ecologist Richard Dennis King (1942–2002) and Australian geneticist Max King (born 1946), honouring their contributions to the understan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortescue River
The Fortescue River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is the third longest river in the state. Course The river rises near Deadman Hill in the Ophthalmia Range about 30 km south of Newman. The river flows in a northerly direction parallel with the Great Northern Highway until it crosses the highway just south of the Marble Bar turn-off. The river then runs north-west then west crossing the Great Northern Highway again, north of the Auski Roadhouse. Approximately north of Newman, the river flows through the Fortescue Marsh, an important wetland. The river continues to head west crossing Highway 1 at the Fortescue Roadhouse () and discharges into the Indian Ocean at Mardie Station about 40 km south-west of Dampier Tributaries The river is known to have 24 tributaries that include: Western Creek, Warrawanda Creek, Shovelanna Creek, Kalgan Creek, Fortescue River South, Cowcumba Creek, Macklin Creek and Tanga Tanga Creek. During ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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