King's Goanna is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of small monitor lizard

Monitor lizard

Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...

  It is also known as King's Rock Monitor and it is found in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Specifically it is endemic to the Northwest part of the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

, and the Northeast part of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It belongs to the subgenus

Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...

 Odatria along with the Peacock Monitor

Peacock Monitor

The peacock monitor , also known as Auffenberg's monitor, is a species of small monitor lizard native to the island of Roti, Indonesia.It belongs to the subgenus Odatria along with the Pilbara monitor and King's goanna....

 and the Pilbara monitor. Comparatively little is known about this species.

Habitat

King's Goanna inhabits rocky outcrops of the Kimberley Region and adjacent areas. It is usually found in areas with rock exfoliations, slopes with open bushland

Bushland

Bushland is any area in Australia that is predominantly indigenous flora and fauna.Bushland is the term commonly used by conservation protection groups and other environmental groups as a blanket term for natural vegetation, which may cover any kind of habitat from open shrubby country with few...

 and shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s where boulders and outcrops provide its required microhabitat. Varanus kingorum is also is found in grasslands.

Description

Varanus kingorum is one the smallest species of monitor lizard, reaching a total length of up to 40 cm. It is basically brown in colour with a black reticulum

Reticulum

Reticulum is a small, faint constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for a small net, or reticle—a net of crosshairs at the focus of a telescope eyepiece that is used to measure star positions...

 in juveniles that breaks down with age to form dark flecks and spots.

Behavior and diet

King's Goannas retreat into hole, rock fissures and small crevices, when they are approached, being extremely shy.

The appear to feed exclusively on insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s including locust

Orthoptera

Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...

, termite

Termite

Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...

s and insect eggs.

Further reading

• Photo of Varanus kingorum at Varanus.nl
• JCVI.org (Retrieved 11 May. 2010).
• Reptileforums.co.uk
• Bennet, D.F. (2003). Australische Warane. Reptilia (Münster) 8 (5): 18-25
• Bennet, D.F. (2003). Australian Monitors. Reptilia (GB) (30): 12-19
• Cogger, H.G. (2000). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, 6th ed. Ralph Curtis Publishing, Sanibel Island, 808 pp.
• De Lisle, H.F. (1996). Natural History of Monitor Lizards. Krieger, Malabar (Florida)
• Eidenmüller, B. (2003). Haltung und kontinuierliche Vermehrung von Kings Felsenwaran, Varanus kingorum STORR 1980, mit der erstmaligen Nachzucht eines albinotischen Jungtieres. Reptilia (Münster) 8 (5): 36-40
• Eidenmüller, B. (1999). Haltung und Nachzucht von Kings Felsenwaran, Varanus kingorum STORR 1980. Herpetofauna 21 (121): 19-23
• Eidenmüller, B. (2001). Between the rocks - Pick up tips on breeding and keeping King’s rock monitors (Varanus kingorum). Reptiles 9 (5): 78-81
• Eidenmüller, B. 2007. Small monitors in the terrarium. Reptilia (GB) (50): 12-19
• Horn, H. G. (1977). Notizen zur Systematik, Fundortangaben und Haltung von Varanus (Varanus) karlschmidti. Salamandra 13 (2): 78-88
• Storr G. M. (1980). The monitor lizards (genus Varanus Merrem, 1820) of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 8(2) 1980: 237-293.