Monitors & Geckos
There are five groups of lizards in this part of the world, namely monitors, geckos, dragons, legless-lizards, and skinks. Monitors, also known as goannas, and geckos are described here.
Worldwide, monitors belong to the single genus Varanus which comprises 78 species. Monitors are very distinct from other reptiles and like snakes have a forked tongue. There are two monitors in this region. Rosenberg’s is a ground dwelling monitor while the Lace Monitor is often found in trees. Rosenberg’s is a lightish brown with orange bands, whereas the Lace Monitor is darker in colour, but also with bands, with a few very broad bands on the second half of its tail.
Worldwide, there are some seven families of geckos (Gekkota) comprising 1500 species largely living in the tropics. Australian geckos belong to the families Diplodactylidae, Carphodactylidae and Gekkonidae.
Geckos are easily recognised, being mostly nocturnal with soft bodies and tiny granular scales. They have well-developed limbs with five digits, large eyes with vertical pupils, no eyelids, and broad fleshy tongues. In the absence of eyelids, the tongue is used to lick the eye clean.
Geckos are amazing animals, characterised by their amazing colour patterns, ability to vocalise (using chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos), adhesive toe pads (being able to adhere to almost any surface), lack of eyelids (instead have a transparent membrane which they lick to clean), spectacular colour vision (350 times more sensitive than human colour vision and sensitive to UV, blue, and green), being ‘polyphyodont’ (teeth are constantly replaced), and ‘autonomy' (ability to can lose their tails in defence). They are nocturnal.
A standard measurement in the description of reptiles is the snout-vent length (SVL) which is measured from the tip of the nose (snout) to the anus (vent), and excludes the tail. This may be a helpful in distinguishing various species of goannas and geckos.
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Discussion
Christinus marmoratus
Christinus marmoratus
Christinus marmoratus
The Boly trail camera has worked very well.
Varanus varius
@MartinPredavec - How did you manage to get so many shots of goannas walking past the camera?
Did you drag a piece of meat along the ground or something?
Varanus varius
Significant sightings
- Varanus rosenbergi at Jerangle, NSW
- Varanus rosenbergi at Ainslie, ACT
- Varanus rosenbergi at Hackett, ACT
- Varanus rosenbergi at Booth, ACT
- Varanus rosenbergi at Tennent, ACT
- Varanus varius at Illilanga & Baroona
- Varanus rosenbergi at Bredbo, NSW
- Varanus varius at Burra Creek, NSW
- Varanus varius at Burrinjuck, NSW
- Varanus rosenbergi at Tharwa, ACT
Recent activity
Christinus marmoratus at Gowrie, ACT
Christinus marmoratus at Gowrie, ACT
Diplodactylus vittatus at Gowrie, ACT
Christinus marmoratus at Crowther, NSW
Christinus marmoratus at Crowther, NSW
Christinus marmoratus at Crowther, NSW
Top contributors
- DonFletcher 149
- MartinPredavec 51
- AlisonMilton 45
- Illilanga 41
- Bidge 35
- AaronClausen 31
- MatthewHiggins 24
- Darcy 23
- KMcCue 23
- TimL 23
Top moderators
- DonFletcher 359
- wombey 298
- PatrickCampbell2 162
- GeoffRobertson 144
- PatrickCampbell 92
- MichaelMulvaney 65
- WillO 61
- BrianLR 31
- jks 29
- MichaelBedingfield 17
