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Varanus semiremex PETERS, 1869

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Higher TaxaVaranidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Rusty Monitor 
SynonymVaranus (Odatria) semiremex PETERS 1869: 65
Odatria semireme — GÜNTHER 1875: 9 (in error)
Varanus boulengeri KINGHORN 1923
Varanus semiremex — COGGER 1983
Varanus semiremex — DE LISLE 1996: 137
Varanus semiremex — COGGER 2000: 372
Varanus olivaceus — PIANKA in PIANKA & KING 2004: 462
Varanus semiremex — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Varanus (Odatria) semiremex — HÖRENBERG & KOCH 2013
Varanus (Odatria) semiremex — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50 
DistributionAustralia (Queensland)

Type locality: Cape York, NE Australia.
Type locality: Coquet Is., Howick Group, Qld. [Varanus boulengeri]  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 5776
Holotype: AM R8083 [Varanus boulengeri] 
Diagnosis 
CommentIllustration in Schmida (2000). 
EtymologyPeters was not explicit about the derivation of the name. However, it has been suggested that it is from the Latin semis (half) plus remex (a rower) (Ehmann, 1992), and hence may relate to the compression of the distal half of the tail, with a double dorsal keel in this segment. (G. Shea, pers. comm., 9 Feb 2024) 
References
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • BUCKLITSCH, YANNICK; WOLFGANG BÖHME, ANDRÉ KOCH 2016. Scale Morphology and Micro-Structure of Monitor Lizards (Squamata: Varanidae: Varanus spp.) and their Allies: Implications for Systematics, Ecology, and Conservation. . Zootaxa 4153 (1): 001–192 - get paper here
  • Bustard, H. R. 1970. Australian Lizards. Sydney: Collins 162 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H. G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, xxx + 1033 pp. - get paper here
  • Cogger, H.G. 2000. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
  • Earley, Ryan L.; Omar Attum, Perri Eason 2002. Varanid combat: perspectives from game theory. Amphibia-Reptilia 23 (4): 469-485 - get paper here
  • Eidenmüller, B. 2007. Small monitors in the terrarium. Reptilia (GB) (50): 12-19 - get paper here
  • Eidenmüller, B. 2007. Kleinwarane im Terrarium. Reptilia (Münster) 12 (63): 16-23 - get paper here
  • FRÝDLOVÁ, PETRA and DANIEL FRYNTA 2010. A test of Rensch’s rule in varanid lizards. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 100: 293–306 - get paper here
  • Günther, A. 1875. A list of the saurians of Australia and New Zealand. Pp. 9-19. In: Richardson, J., and J. E. Gray. The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, during the years 1839 to 1843. By authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. Vol. 2. E. W. Janson, London - get paper here
  • Hörenberg, Thomas & André Koch 2013. Die Zwergwarane der Untergattung Odatria Gray, 1838. Draco 13 (53): 6-19 - get paper here
  • Horn, H.-G. 2005. Bufo marinus oder die fatalen Folgen einer Faunenverfälschung. Reptilia (Münster) 10 (55): 56-59 - get paper here
  • Iannucci, Alessio; Marie Altmanová, Claudio Ciofi, Malcolm Ferguson-Smith, Massimo Milan, Jorge Claudio Pereira, James Pether, Ivan Rehák, Michail Rovatsos, Roscoe Stanyon, Petr Velenský, Petr Ráb, Lukáš Kratochvíl & Martina Johnson Pokorná 2019. Conserved sex chromosomes and karyotype evolution in monitor lizards (Varanidae). Heredity 123, 215–227 - get paper here
  • King, M. & King, D. 1975. Chromosomal evolution in the lizard genus Varanus (Reptilia). Aust. J Biol. Sci. 28: 89-108 - get paper here
  • Kinghorn, J. R. 1923. A new Varanus from Coquet Island, Queensland. Rec. Austral. Mus. 14: 135-137 - get paper here
  • Lisle, H.F. de 1996. Natural History of Monitor Lizards. Krieger, Malabar (Florida)
  • Mertens, R. 1942. Die Familie der Warane (Varanidae), 3. Teil: Taxonomie. Abh. Senckenb. naturf. Ges., 466: 235-391
  • Peters, WILHELM C. H. 1869. Eine Mittheilung über neue Gattungen und Arten von Eidechsen. Monatsber. Königl. Preuss. Akad. Wissensch. Berlin, 1869: 57-66 - get paper here
  • Pianka, E. R. and D. R. King, eds. 2004. Varanoid Lizards of the World. Indiana University Press, 599 pp - get paper here
  • Pianka, Eric R. 2012. Can humans share spaceship earth? Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 6 (1): 1-24 - get paper here
  • Polleck, R. 1980. Der Rostkopfwaran (Varanus semiremex). Aquarien-Magazin (Stuttgart) 14: 39.
  • Polleck, R. 1982. Ein seltener Terrariengast: Der Rostkopfwaran (Varanus semiremex, PETERS 1869). Herpetofauna 4 (16): 19-20 - get paper here
  • Schmida, G. 2000. Exkursionen bei Mackay und Proserpine. DATZ 53 (9): 8-12
  • Sprackland, R. G. 2001. Dwarf monitors. Reptile and Amphibian Hobbyist 6 (10): 8-16
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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