Short-tailed monitor

The short-tailed monitor, or the pygmy goanna, (Varanus brevicauda)[1] is the second smallest living monitor lizard in the world with a maximum length of 25 cm.[2] They live in desert regions of Australia.

Short-tailed monitor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Odatria
Species:
V. brevicauda
Binomial name
Varanus brevicauda
Boulenger, 1898
Synonyms

''Varanus brevicaudus

Etymology

The generic name Varanus is derived from the Arabic word waral ورل, which is translated to English as "monitor".[3]

Distribution

The short-tailed monitor ranges throughout central Australia from the coast of Western Australia through the interior of Northern Territory and northwestern South Australia to western Queensland.[4] This monitor burrows in compacted sandy loam and gravel, in areas dominated by spinifex (Triodia spp.). This terrestrial species is secretive[5] and rarely seen active above ground; it is mainly encountered by digging up its burrow.[4]

Diet

Pygmy goannas are highly active foragers in the wild.[6] They eat insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, roaches, caterpillars, as well as reptile eggs, isopods, spiders, scorpions, small lizards and occasionally frogs and even small snakes.[7][4] These small monitors are bold and fierce predators, despite their size.[6]

Reproduction

Mating occurs for this monitor lizard in September and October after hibernation, and by February, the eggs hatch. The clutch size usually is two or three, but in some coastal areas, up to five eggs are produced. "In dry years when food is scarce no reproduction occurs at all."[5]

Conservation

The main threat to short-tailed monitors is predation by larger animals.

References
  1. "Varanus brevicauda". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
  2. Cogger, Harold; Zweifel, Richard (1992). Reptiles & Amphibians. Sydney: Weldon Owen. ISBN 0-8317-2786-1.
  3. 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.
  4. Pianka, Eric R.; Vitt, Laurie J. (2003). Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity (Organisms and Environments, 5). 5 (1 ed.). California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23401-7.
  5. Varanus brevicauda mampam.com
  6. Short Tailed Pygmy Monitor - Varanus brevicauda pilbarapythons.com
  7. Losos, Jonathan B.; Greene, Harry W. (1988-12-01). "Ecological and evolutionary implications of diet in monitor lizards". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 35 (4): 379–407. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1988.tb00477.x. ISSN 0024-4066.
  • Photo of Short-tailed monitor
  • Cogger, H. (1967). Australian Reptiles in Colour. Sydney: A. H. & A. W. Reed, ISBN 0-589-07012-6
  • King, Dennis & Green, Brian. 1999. Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 0-86840-456-X
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