Varanus sparnus DOUGHTY, KEALLEY, FITCH & DONNELLAN, 2014
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Varanus sparnus?
Varanus sparnus
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| Higher Taxa | Varanidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Dampier Peninsula Goanna |
| Synonym | Varanus sparnus DOUGHTY, KEALLEY, FITCH & DONNELLAN 2014 Varanus (Odatria) sparnus — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50 |
| Distribution | Australia (Western Australia) Type locality: Coloumb Point, Dampier Peninsula (-17.5736°, 122.1694°) |
| Reproduction | oviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: WAM R168486, adult male; paratypes: WAM. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A very small Varanus (< 120 mm SVL) with short limbs, elongate body, ridged, circular and short prehensile tail (TailL/SVL: 0.92–0.99), and relatively plain reddish-brown dorsum with widely scattered small black spots. Further distinguished from V. brevicauda by having a more elongate body, shorter limbs, less robust head, body and tail, and presence of enlarged squarish scales not encircled by granules on front of the arms. |
| Comment | Habitat: alluvial or sandstone deposits, broadly classed as ‘pindan shrubland’; Corymbia sp. low trees over Acacia monticola, A. colei, A. eriopoda tall open scrub over mixed open grassland, on pindan soil on plain (Doughty et al. 2014). Behavior: this species is a highly active burrower, excavating underneath all hard structures, such as flat pieces of wood and a heating stone; the animals were constantly moving and rarely paused; the tail is highly prehensile, similar to that of V. brevicauda (Doughty et al. 2014). Similar species: V. brevicauda |
| Etymology | From Greek “sparnos” for ‘rare’ or ‘scarce’, in reference to this species’ isolation and small range on the Dampier Peninsula. Latinized to sparnus, and used as an adjective. |
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