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Varanus spenceri LUCAS & FROST, 1903

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Higher TaxaVaranidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Spencer's Monitor 
SynonymVaranus spenceri LUCAS & FROST 1903: 145
Varanus ingrami — BOULENGER 1906
Varanus (Varanus) spenceri — MERTENS 1942
Varanus spenceri — COGGER 1983
Aspetosaurus spenceri — WELLS & WELLINGTON 1985: 20
Varanus spenceri — DE LISLE 1996: 137
Varanus spenceri — COGGER 2000: 376
Varanus spenceri — WILSON & SWAN 2010
Varanus (Varanus) spenceri — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50 
DistributionAustralia (E Northern Territory, NW Queensland)

ingrami: Northern Territory, Australia. Type locality: Alexandria, Northern Territory, Australia.

Type locality: Tablelands, 50 mi to NE of Tennant's Creek, N. T.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMV D12350
Holotype: BMNH 1946.8.31.6, from Alexandria, N. T. [Varanus ingrami] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1248 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
Comment 
EtymologyNamed after Walter Baldwin Spencer (1860-1929), British biologist who moved to Australia in 1887. See Shea 2003 for biographical details. 
References
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Boulenger, G. A. 1906. Description of a new lizard and a new snake from Australia. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (7) 18: 440-441 - get paper here
  • Christian, T. 1979. Notes on Spencer's monitor (Varanus spenceri). Vict. Herp. Soc. Newsletter 14: 13-14
  • 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.
  • 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
  • Horn, H.-G. 1981. Varanus spenceri, nicht Varanus giganteus: eine Richtigstellung (Reptilia: Sauria: Varanidae). Salamandra 17 (1-2): 78-81 - 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
  • Lisle, H.F. de 1996. Natural History of Monitor Lizards. Krieger, Malabar (Florida)
  • Lucas, A. H. S., and C. Frost 1903. Description of two new Australian lizards, Varanus spenceri and Diplodactylus bilineatus. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 15:145—147. - get paper here
  • Mertens, R. 1942. Die Familie der Warane (Varanidae), 3. Teil: Taxonomie. Abh. Senckenb. naturf. Ges., 466: 235-391
  • Mertens, R. 1958. Bemerkungen über die Warane Australiens. Senckenbergiana biologica 39: 229-264
  • Pengilley, R. 1981. Notes on the biology of Varanus spenceri and V. gouldii, Barkly Tablelands, Northern Territory. Australian Journal of Herpetology 1: 23-26.
  • Pianka, E. R. and D. R. King, eds. 2004. Varanoid Lizards of the World. Indiana University Press, 599 pp - get paper here
  • Shea, G.M. 2003. The HORN Expedition (1894) to Central Australia: New Directions in Australian Herpetology. Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 52 (3/4): 245-273 - get paper here
  • Wilson, S. & Swan, G. 2010. A complete guide to reptiles of Australia, 3rd ed. Chatswood: New Holland, 558 pp.
 
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