Pilbara monitor

The Pilbara monitor (Varanus bushi ), also known as Bush's monitor, is a newly discovered species of monitor lizard.

Etymology

The specific name, bushi, and the common name, Bush's monitor, are in honor of Australian naturalist and herpetologist Brian Gordon Bush (born 1947).^[2]

Taxonomy

This species belongs to the subgenus Odatria.

Geographic range

Pilbara monitors live in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Description

V. bushi is most similar to the stripe-tailed goanna and the pygmy Mulga goanna of all monitor lizards. However, the Pilbara monitor can be distinguished from these other two species by some morphological and genetic differences. ^[3]

Behavior

Details about the behavior of this monitor are relatively unknown.

References

1. ↑ Monitor-lizards.net (Retrieved 11 February 2010).
2. ↑ 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 bushi, p. 44).
3. ↑ JCVI.org (Retrieved 11 February 2010).

External links

• Photo at AROD.com.au (Retrieved 12 February 2010).
• Range map at Australianreptileguide.com (Retrieved 12 August 2010).
• JCVI.org (Retrieved 13 February 2010).

Further reading

• Aplin KP, Fitch AJ, King DJ. 2006. A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species. Zootaxa 1313: 1–38.

• Eidenmüller B. 2007. Small monitors in the terrarium. Reptilia (GB) (50): 12-19.

• King, Ruth Allen; Pianka, Eric R.; King, Dennis. 2004. Varanoid Lizards of the World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 225–229. ISBN 0-253-34366-6.

• King, Dennis; Green, Brian. 1999. Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0-86840-456-X.