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Varanus sparnus DOUGHTY, KEALLEY, FITCH & DONNELLAN, 2014

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Higher TaxaVaranidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Dampier Peninsula Goanna 
SynonymVaranus sparnus DOUGHTY, KEALLEY, FITCH & DONNELLAN 2014
Varanus (Odatria) sparnus — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50 
DistributionAustralia (Western Australia)

Type locality: Coloumb Point, Dampier Peninsula (-17.5736°, 122.1694°)  
Reproductionoviparous (manual imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) 
TypesHolotype: WAM R168486, adult male; paratypes: WAM. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: 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.
 
CommentHabitat: 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 
EtymologyFrom 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. 
References
  • Doughty, Paul; Luke Kealley, Alison Fitch and Stephen C. Donnellan 2014. A new diminutive species of Varanus from the Dampier Peninsula, western Kimberley region, Western Australia. Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 29: 128–140 - 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
  • ZDUNEK, PRZEMYSŁAW & KRZYSZTOF KOLENDA. 2022. The threat of discarded food and drinks containers to monitor lizards. The Herpetological Bulletin 161: 28–30. - get paper here
  • Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
 
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