Varanus pilbarensis STORR, 1980

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Higher Taxa	Varanidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Northern Pilbara Rock Monitor G: Nördlicher Pilbara Felsenwaran
Synonym	Varanus pilbarensis STORR 1980: 278 Varanus pilbarensis — DE LISLE 1996: 132 Varanus pilbarensis — COGGER 2000: 370 Varanus pilbarensis — WILSON & SWAN 2010 Varanus (Odatria) pilbarensis — HÖRENBERG & KOCH 2013 Varanus (Odatria) pilbarensis — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50
Distribution	Australia (Pilbara region, Western Australia) Type locality: Chichester Range, Western Australia, (22° 03’ S, 118° 48’ E). Localities: WAM: R90856 (female)—Woodstock Station (21o37'00"S 119°01'24"E); R100766 (male)—Woodstock Station (21°35'20"S 118°58'59"E); R102103 (male)—20 km SSW Cooya Pooya, Millstream Chichester National Park (21°12'40"S 117°04'20"E); R110941 (female)—44 km W Pannawonica (21°39'S 116°19'E); ^R113094 – 42 km NNE Munjina Roadhouse (21°57'S 118°50'E); R132659 (female)—Burrup Peninsula (20°32'16"S 116°49'07"E); R139384 (female)—Meentheena (21°12'59"S 120°20'26"E); R163916 (female)—47.5 km ESE Goldsworthy (20°25'41"S 119°58'10"E); R165513 (female)—West Intercourse Island (20°40'41"S 116°37'54"E); R170132 (male)—30 km NE Wodgina (21°01'42"S 118°55'00"E).
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Holotype: WAM R39782, male; paratypes: WAM
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: Differs from all Australian congeners by the following combination of characters: size moderately small (SVL up to 180 mm); slender build; tail long (between 170–211% of SVL) and thin, circular in cross section at midpoint, midbody scales 118–128; dorsal and lateral primary scales weakly keeled, enlarged keeled ventrolateral scales on each side of and posterior to vent in 4–6 rows, scales on top of head smooth; supraoculars gradually merging with larger interoculars; dorsal scales elongate, ovate; nostrils high and oriented dorsolaterally, dorsal and lateral surfaces of body with distinct transverse series of large ocelli on a light reddish-brown background, and tail with prominent alternating light and dark bands. Varanus pilbarensis differs from its sister species in the Hamersley Range (described below) in its overall paler colouration, large greyish ocelli on the dorsal and lateral surfaces of body and limbs (v. small whitish ocelli on limbs only), strongly banded tail (v. completely or mostly unbanded) and larger and more elongate dorsal scales (Fig. 3A in Maryan et al. 2014). Additional details (2429 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment
Etymology	Named for the Pilbara region of Western Australia, the region to which it is restricted. Used as a noun in apposition.
References	Bennet, D.F. 2003. Australische Warane. Reptilia (Münster) 8 (43): 18-25 - get paper here Bennet, D.F. 2003. Australian Monitors. Reptilia (GB) (30): 12-19 - 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. Doody, J. Sean, Brendan Schembri and Samuel S. Sweet. 2015. Varanus pilbarensis (Pilbara Rock monitor) and Varanus glauerti (Kimberly Rock monitor) tail display behavior. Herpetological Review 46 (3): 439-440 - 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 Eidenmüller, B. & Langner, C. 1998. Bemerkungen zur Haltung und Nachzucht des Pilbara-Felsenwarans (Varanus pilbarensis Storr 1980). Herpetofauna 20 (117): 5-10 - get paper here Ellis, R.J. 2018. An annotated type catalogue of varanid lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Varanidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 33:187-194, DOI: 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.33(2).2018.187-194 - get paper here Hörenberg, Thomas 2013. Der Pilbara-Waran, Varanus pilbarensis – Haltung und Nachzucht. Draco 13 (53): 31-36 - 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) MARYAN, BRAD; PAUL M. OLIVER, ALISON J. FITCH & MORGAN O’CONNELL 2014. Molecular and morphological assessment of Varanus pilbarensis (Squamata: Varanidae), with a description of a new species from the southern Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa 3768 (2): 139–158 - 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 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 VEGA, ALVARO CAMINA & ANDRE KOCH 2017. First Breeding Report of the Pilbara Rock Monitor (Varanus pilbarensis Storr, 1980) in Spain with Taxonomic Comments on the Recently Described V. hamersleyensis Maryan et al., 2014. Biawak 11 (1): 19-27 - get paper here VEGA, ALVARO CAMINA & EDGAR WEFER 2016. Remarks on a Case of Deformities in a Female Varanus pilbarensis. Biawak 10 (2): 51 - get paper here Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information http://www.amonline.net.au/herpetology/research/pdf/varanidae.pdf http://monitor-lizards.net/species/index.html http://www.kingsnake.com/oz/lizards/monitors/vpilbar.htm http://www.arod.com.au/arod/reptilia/Squamata/Varanidae/Varanus/pilbarensis Google images

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