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Varanus ocreatus STORR, 1980

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Higher TaxaVaranidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Storr's Monitor 
SynonymVaranus storri ocreatus STORR 1980: 283
Worrellisaurus ocreatus — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 22
Varanus storri ocreatus — DE LISLE 1996: 138
Varanus storri ochreatus [sic] — BOHME 2003
Varanus storri ocreatus — EIDENMÜLLER 2007: 12
Varanus (Odatria) storri ocreatus — HÖRENBERG & KOCH 2013
Varanus ocreatus — PAVÓN-VÁZQUEZ et al. 2022 
DistributionWestern Australia (Kimberleys) and adjacent parts of the Northern Territory

Type locality: Argyle Downs airstrip, W. A., in 16°20’ S, 128° 46’ E.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: WAM R42717 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: A small reddish monitor (up to 35 cm long) with strongly spinose tail. The species V. storri (Mertens, 1966) is very like V. acanthurus but is smaller (SVL up to 134 mm) and has fewer midbody scale rows (up to 91), fewer transverse rows of ventrals (up to 58) and much weaker colour pattern (e.g. the neck is never boldly striped). V. storri differs from V. primordius of far north of Northern Territory (Storr, 1968) in its more numerous midbody scale rows (70-91, us 60-66), keels of dorsal and lateral caudals strongly spinose rather than merely mucronate, and prevailing reddish brown rather than olive grey coloration. V. s. ocreatus differs from V. s. storri mainly in the enlarged scales under distal part of hindleg; it also has a longer tail and limbs and fewer midbody scale rows and transverse rows of ventrals. (Storr 1980)


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CommentDistribution: see map in AROD (which shows 2 polygons for ocreatus and 1 in the east for storri s. str.). 
EtymologyFrom the Latin ocrea (greaves), plus the suffix -atus (possessing), in the sense of wearing greaves or leggings, relating to the keeled scales on the hindlimbs. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Böhme,W. 2003. Checklist of the living monitor lizards of the world (family Varanidae). Zoologische Verhandelingen 341: 6-43 - get paper here
  • Eidenmüller, B. 2007. Kleinwarane im Terrarium. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (63): 16-23 - get paper here
  • Eidenmüller, B. 2007. Small monitors in the terrarium. Reptilia (GB) (50): 12-19 - get paper here
  • Hörenberg, Thomas & André Koch 2013. Die Zwergwarane der Untergattung Odatria Gray, 1838. Draco 13 (53): 6-19 - get paper here
  • Lisle, H.F. de 1996. Natural History of Monitor Lizards. Krieger, Malabar (Florida)
  • Pavón-Vázquez, Carlos J, Damien Esquerré, Alison J Fitch, Brad Maryan, Paul Doughty, Stephen C Donnellan, and J Scott Keogh. 2022. Between a Rock and a Dry Place: Phylogenomics, Biogeography, and Systematics of Ridge-Tailed Monitors (Squamata: Varanidae: Varanus Acanthurus Complex). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 173: 107516 - get paper here
  • Storr G M 1980. The monitor lizards (genus Varanus Merrem, 1820) of Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 8 (2): 237-293 - get paper here
  • Wells, R. W. and Wellington, C. R. 1985. A synopsis of the Amphibia and Reptilia of Australia. Australian Journal of Herpetology, Supplementary Series (1): 62-64.
 
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