Spencer's

goanna A goanna is any one of several species of lizard of the genus ''Monitor lizard, Varanus'' found in Australia and Southeast Asia. Around 70 species of ''Varanus'' are known, 25 of which are found in Australia. This varied group of carnivorous r ...

(''Varanus spenceri''), also known commonly as Spencer's monitor, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 Aus ...

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''spenceri'', is in honour of English-Australian biologist

Walter Baldwin Spencer Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer (23 June 1860 – 14 July 1929), commonly referred to as Sir Baldwin Spencer, was a British-Australian Evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, anthropology, anthropologist and Ethnology, ethnologist. He is k ...

Geographic range

Spencer's goanna is found in eastern

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

and northwestern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is native to the

Barkly Tableland The Barkly Tableland is a region in the Central East of the Northern Territory, extending into Western Queensland. The region was named after Sir Henry Barkly. The epithet "Tableland" is inaccurate, since the region is neither elevated relative ...

Description

Spencer's goanna can grow to a total length (including tail) of up to . 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.

Diet

Spencer's goanna eats anything it can find, including highly venomous snakes, small mammals, small lizards, eggs, and

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

(dead animals), and is able to digest anything it eats.

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.

Habitat

The preferred natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of Spencer's goanna is

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

. 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.

Reproduction

Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

size of Spencer's monitor generally ranges between 11 and 30 eggs.''Varanus spenceri''
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Taxonomy

''Varanus ingrami'' , is an invalid name (a junior synonym) for this species. www.reptile-database.org.

References

External links

*
Photos at Kingsnake.com
Varanus Reptiles of Queensland Reptiles described in 1903 Reptiles of the Northern Territory Monitor lizards of Australia Taxa named by Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas Taxa named by Charles Frost (naturalist) {{Lizard-stub