Pygmy mulga monitor

Pygmy mulga monitor
Varanus gilleni male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Lacertilia
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Odatria
Species: V. gilleni
Binomial name
Varanus gilleni
Lucas & C. Frost, 1895[1]
Synonyms
  • Varanus gilleni
    Lucas & C. Frost, 1895
  • Worrellisaurus gilleni
    — Wells & Wellington, 1985
  • Varanus (Odatria) gilleni
    — Hörenberg & Koch, 2013[2]

The pygmy mulga monitor or stripe-tailed goanna (Varanus gilleni ) is a species of monitor lizard native to northwestern and central Australia.[3]

Etymology

The specific name, gilleni, is in honor of Australian anthropologist Francis James Gillen.[4]

Description

Pygmy mulga monitors are arboreal, with prehensile tails. They grow to a total length of around 35 cm (14 in), 20 cm (7.9 in) of which is tail. The upper surface is brown, grading to grey at the sides. The nostrils are positioned on the sides of the muzzle, about halfway between the tip of the snout and the eye.[3] V. gilleni weigh, on average, 60–80 grams (2.1–2.8 oz).[5]

Diet

V. gilleni eat insects, lizards, small mammals, and eggs.

References

  1. Zipcodezoo.com Archived August 20, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Varanus gilleni "". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. 1 2 "Varanus gilleni ". www.monitor-lizards.net.
  4. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Varanus gilleni, p. 101).
  5. Pygmy Mulga monitor - Perth Zoo - Western Australia Archived January 8, 2010 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

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