The Dampier Peninsula monitor or Dampier Peninsula goanna (''Varanus sparnus''), described in 2014, is the smallest known species of

monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus ''Varanus,'' the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recogn ...

, growing up to 16.3 grams with a length of almost 23 cm and a SVL (snout to vent length) of 116 mm. It is believed to live only on the

Dampier Peninsula The Dampier Peninsula is a peninsula located north of Broome and Roebuck Bay in Western Australia. It is surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the west and north, and King Sound to the east. It is named after the mariner and explorer William Damp ...

of the

Kimberley region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts ...

north of Broome and Derby in Western Australia. It is highly active, making it difficult to photograph in the wild. It has short legs, an elongate body, a reddish-brown back with widely scattered black spots and "a ridged, circular and short

prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ (anatomy), organ that has Adaptation (biology), adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely der ...

tail."

"''sparnos'' is Greek for 'rare' or 'scarce' in reference to this species' isolation and small range on the Dampier Peninsula. Latinised to ''sparnus'', and used as an adjective".

Taxonomy

Described in 2014 and assigned to the genus '' Varanus'', lizards known as monitors and goannas. The specimens were obtained in a location at the

in 2009.

Description

The smallest species of extant varanid.

Distribution

Restricted to rocky habitat in the northwest of Western Australia.

Footnotes

References

* "A new diminutive species of Varanus from the Dampier Peninsula, western Kimberley region, Western Australia." Paul Doughty, Luke Kealley, Alison Fitch and Stephen C. Donnellan. ''Records of the Western Australian Museum'' 29, pp. 128–140 (2014). PDF file downloadable at

MANUSCRIPT RECEIVED 31 OCTOBER 2014; ACCEPTED 31 OCTOBER 2014
‘Eureka’ moment with discovery of new Dampier Peninsula goanna species AAP December 30, 2014

World’s smallest goanna lizard species discovered in the Kimberley region
Di Yarrall, Western Australian Museum Created 30 Dec 2014
Discovery of a new species of goanna lizard from the Kimberley
Western Australian Museum updated 7 Jan 2015 Varanus Reptiles of the Northern Territory Reptiles of Western Australia Kimberley (Western Australia) Reptiles described in 2014 Monitor lizards of Australia {{Lizard-stub