Lizards of
Australia  
Monitor Lizards
(Varanidae)  

Related checklists:  Reptiles of Australia (main menu) - Lizards of Australia (main menu)

Bibliography of the reptiles of Australia
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Citation: Midtgaard, Rune. RepFocus - A Survey of the Reptiles of the World. www.repfocus.dk (Compilation date: 14th April, 2023).


Checklist
General remarks: The list includes only formally described species. Newly discovered, but still unnamed species are excluded. However, unnamed species or species unassigned to species level are included, if they are the only representatives of their genus in the region. Species counts exclude extinct and introduced species. Doubtful records, typically older voucher specimens of uncertain origin, have been excluded if considered questionable, as are records based on sources considered unreliable or controversial.
Note: Your comments to the checklist (omissions, errors, etc.) are welcomed, preferably if they are provided with reliable references. If possible, please attach a pdf file of the relevant reference to an email addressed to:
Lizards (Sauria)
= endemicEX = extinct or assumed extinct

Species
References
 Family Varanidae (Monitor Lizards)
Genus Varanus (Monitor Lizards)
  *
Varanus acanthurus

Common Spiny-tailed Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 2014 Cogger, Cameron & Cogger 1983 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus brevicaudus

Short-tailed Pygmy Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus bushi

Pilbara Pygmy Monitor

Aplin, Fitch & King 2006 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus caudolineatus

Stripe-tailed Pygmy Monitor

Aplin, Fitch & King 2006 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus citrinus

Gulf Ridge-tailed Monitor

Pavon-Vazquez, Esquerre, Fitch, Maryan, Doughty, Donnellan & Keogh 2022
 
Varanus doreanus

Blue-tailed Monitor

Boehme 2003 Boehme, Philipp & Ziegler in Pianka, King & King (eds.) 2004 Cogger 2014 Natusch & Lyons 2017 Weijola, Donnellan & Lindquist 2016 Ziegler, Philipp & Boehme 1999
  *
Varanus eremius

Rusty Desert Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus giganteus

Perentie

Aplin & Smith 2001 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus gilleni

Pygmy Mulga Monitor

Aplin, Fitch & King 2006 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus glauerti

Kimberley Rock Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus glebopalma

Black-palmed Rock Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Cogger, Cameron & Cogger 1983 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus gouldii

Sand Monitor

Anonymous 2018 Aplin & Smith 2001 Aplin, Donnellan & Dell 2008 [listed for "Dorre/Bernier Island"] Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2000 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 2014 Cogger, Cameron & Cogger 1983 Hobson & Thrash 2016 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Littlejohn & Rawlinson 1971 Magnetic Island Nature Care Inc. (http://www.minca.org/reptiles.html), viewed 30th June 2021 Maryan 1996 Robertson & Coventry 2019 Swan, Shea & Sadlier 2004 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus hamersleyensis

Southern Pilbara Rock Monitor

Maryan, Oliver, Fitch & O'Connell 2014
 
Varanus indicus

Pacific Monitor

Cogger 2014 Dryden & Ziegler in Pianka, King & King (eds.) 2004 Weijola, Donnellan & Lindquist 2016 Weijola, Kraus, Vahtera, Lindqvist & Donnellan 2017 Wilson & Swan 2010 Ziegler, Boehme, Eidenmuller & Philipp 2001 Ziegler, Schmitz, Koch & Boehme 2007
  *
Varanus insulanicus

Groote Eylandt Spiny-tailed Monitor

Cogger 1996 [as V. baritji] Cogger 2014 [as V. baritji] Mertens 1958 Pavon-Vazquez, Esquerre, Fitch, Maryan, Doughty, Donnellan & Keogh 2022 Wilson & Swan 2010 [as V. baritji]
  *
Varanus keithhornei

Cape York Tree Monitor

Boehme 2003 Cogger 2014 Koch, Ernst, Eidenmuller & Kraus 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus kingorum

Pygmy Rock Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus mertensi

Kimberley Water Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 2014 Cogger, Cameron & Cogger 1983 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus mitchelli

Arnhem Land Water Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus ocreatus

Western Dwarf Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Storr 1980 Wilson 2005
 
Varanus panoptes

Yellow-spotted Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Boehme 2003 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Magnetic Island Nature Care Inc. (http://www.minca.org/reptiles.html), viewed 30th June 2021 Sprackland, Sprackland & Diessner 2004 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus pilbarensis

Northern Pilbara Rock Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
 
Varanus prasinus

Green Tree Monitor

Cogger 2014 Lavery, Watson & Leung 2012 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus primordius

Northern Ridge-tailed Monitor

Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus rosenbergi

Heath Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Armstrong 1999 Bennett 1997 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2000 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 [based on map] Rismiller, McKelvey & Green 2010 Robertson & Coventry 2019 Swan, Shea & Sadlier 2004 Waite 1927 [as varius] Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus scalaris

Australian Spotted Tree Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010
  *
Varanus semiremex

Rusty Monitor

Cogger 2014 Magnetic Island Nature Care Inc. (http://www.minca.org/reptiles.html), viewed 30th June 2021 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
 
Varanus similis

Papuan Spotted Tree Monitor

Boehme 2003 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 [as scalaris] Wilson & Swan 2010 [as scalaris] Wilson 2005 [as scalaris]
  *
Varanus sparnus

Dampier Peninsula Monitor

Doughty, Kealley, Fitch & Donnellan 2014
  *
Varanus spenceri

Plains Goanna

Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus storri

Eastern Dwarf Monitor

Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus tristis

Freckled Monitor and Black-headed Monitor

Aplin & Smith 2001 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2000 Bush, Maryan, Browne-Cooper & Robinson 2007 Cogger 1996 Cogger 2014 Cogger, Cameron & Cogger 1983 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Low 1978 Magnetic Island Nature Care Inc. (http://www.minca.org/reptiles.html), viewed 30th June 2021 Swan, Shea & Sadlier 2004 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005
  *
Varanus varius

Lace Monitor

Amir 2018 Anonymous 2018 Bennett 1997 Cogger 2014 Cogger, Cameron & Cogger 1983 Hobson & Thrash 2016 Houston & Hutchinson 1998 Hutchinson 2010 Littlejohn & Rawlinson 1971 Magnetic Island Nature Care Inc. (http://www.minca.org/reptiles.html), viewed 30th June 2021 Robertson & Coventry 2019 Swan, Shea & Sadlier 2004 Wilson & Swan 2010 Wilson 2005