Varanoid Lizards of the WorldErick Pianka, Dennis King, Ruth Allen King Monitor lizards (genus Varanus) have attracted a great deal of interest--these large and impressive lizards are often the centerpiece of reptile house exhibits. Monitors tend to be fairly wary and difficult to observe--therefore they are not particularly tractable research subjects, but they have nevertheless received an extraordinary amount of attention from devoted students.Varanoid Lizards of the World is a comprehensive account of virtually everything important that is known about monitor lizards, beginning with detailed species accounts and proceeding to various modern comparative analyses. Where possible, people who have had detailed field experience with a particular species have assembled species accounts. In the process of reporting what is known, we also identify what remains to be learned about these lizards. We hope to establish a prototype showing how such a diverse monophyletic group can be exploited both to identify and to understand the actual course of evolution. As such, this effort becomes a protocol for future workers to follow for other groups of closely-related species. |
Contents
Ruth Allen King 9 Lawrence Close Darlington Western Australia | 4 |
The Long and Honorable History of Monitors and Their Kin RALPH E MOLNAR | 10 |
Philipp Zoologische Staatssammlung Münchhausenstraße | 21 |
Tim Schultz Faculty of Science Charles Darwin University Darwin | 34 |
Michael Stanner 67 Kehilat Warsha Street 69702 Tel Aviv Israel | 49 |
Biogeography and Phylogeny of Varanoids RALPH E MOLNAR and ERIC R PIANKA | 68 |
Tempo and Timing of the Australian Varanus Radiation W BRYAN JENNINGS | 77 |
Brian Weavers New South Wales Department of Infrastructure | 81 |
Australian Varanid Species | 298 |
91 | 330 |
104 | 487 |
133 | 504 |
Other Varanoids | 516 |
161 | 543 |
Evolution of Body Size and Reproductive Tactics ERIC R PIANKA | 549 |
A Biological Technical and Legislative Problem | 556 |
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activity adult aigialosaurs albigularis animals ANWC arboreal areas Arnhem Auffenberg Austr Beck behavior body temperature Böhme burrows captivity caudolineatus clade clutch Cogger color Creek Cretaceous dentary Desert diet dorsal eggs Eocene eremius exanthematicus fat bodies females foraging Fossil Record giganteus Gila monster gilleni glauerti glebopalma goannas habitat hatchlings Heloderma Helodermatidae helodermatids hemipenes Herpetol holotype home ranges Horn horridum incubation indicus Island juvenile km NW km SW komodoensis Lanthanotus length males Mertens mertensi Mertensiella metabolic rate Miocene monitor lizards monitor Varanus mosasaurs niloticus Norell Northern Territory observed Odatria panoptes perentie phylogenetic Pianka platynotans Pleistocene prasinus prey Queensland reproductive reptiles Reptilia River rosenbergi salvadorii salvator Saniwa Sauria scalaris scales skull snakes snout species specimens spenceri Storr subspecies suspectum tail terrestrial Thermoregulation Thompson tree tristis Tsellarius varanid lizards Varanus gouldii Varanus griseus varius vertebrae Western Australia Ziegler Zool
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