05 November 2010
GOULDS 'SAND' MONITOR (GOANNA) AT JAROWAIR
This post from 2010 has just been updated in September 2016... almost six years after the original posting. The original post was listed as a Lace Monitor, but thanks to blog follower Ollie Scully, he has informed me that this monitor is in-fact a Goulds or Sand Monitor (Varanus gouldii) not a Lace Monitor. I couldn't quite believe it, as i was under the impression that only the Lace Monitors were in our area... so I was wrong! Olly pointed out, what is now very obvious markings on the face to tell the difference between the monitors. The Lace has vertical stripes under the jaw, while the Goulds has horizontal stripes near the eye. We are thrilled to learn this and have this new discovery, albeit six years after the fact. I now have a large project to go over all of the 'Lace Monitor' photos I have taken here at Jarowair over 10 years and haven't uploaded to the blog, to check on the possibility of other sightings of the Goulds that have gone un-identified. Thanks again Ollie,
Judi & Brendon
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| Goulds or Sand Monitor (Varanus gouldii) at Jarowair November 2010 |
2010 Original Post:
Took a photo of this little guy not far from our place. Loved his spotty legs! I don't often see Goannas on the road. Attempted to chase him off but he wasn't fazed by me at all, went back later to check that he hadn't come in contact with any cars and he had moved on.
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| Goulds or Sand Monitor (Varanus gouldii) at Jarowair November 2010 |
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| While this is a dreadful photo and didn't focus on the head at all, I have re-added it to this post as it shows the underneath lack of pattern on the chin - showing the difference to the lace monitor as we have just discovered. |
Great shots. How big was he? Lucky he got off the road. .
ReplyDeleteHi guys, awesome shot! I think that the lizard pictured above is in fact a sand goanna or goulds monitor, one can see the stripes running horizontal along the face where as a goanna/lace monitor has vertical stripes on the bottom jaw.
ReplyDeleteHi Ollie, really - I didn't think we had any chance of having Goulds here - now you will have me checking all of my photos I have taken over the years... I guess I thought because it was dark in colour that it was a lace monitor... love to learn something new. I'll be researching it further now. Thanks, Judi
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