Varanus Gouldii (Gray 1838) (Fig

Home , Ctenophorus pictus, Mulga parrot, Psephotellus, Sand goanna

WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES &IRCF AMPHIBIANS REPTILES • VOL &15, AMPHIBIANS NO 4 • DEC 2008 • 189 26(2):132–133 • AUG 2019

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURE ARTICLES Sand. Chasing Goanna Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi() inVaranus Wisconsin: gouldii) Predation On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 on a. The Painted Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus Dragon grenadensis) and Humans on( Grenada:Ctenophorus pictus) A Hypothetical Excursion ...... Robert W. Henderson 198 andRESEARCH a Mulga ARTICLES Parrot (Psephotellus varius) . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ...... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida ...... inBrian J. SouthCamposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Australia Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212

CONSERVATIONGerrut ALERT Norval1*, Robert D. Sharrad1, and Michael G. Gardner1,2 . World’s Mammals in Crisis ...... 220 1 . More Than CollegeMammals of ...... Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia,...... Australia, 223 . The “Dow([email protected], Jones Index” of Biodiversity ...... [email protected], [email protected])...... 225 2Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace Adelaide 5000, South Australia, Australia HUSBANDRY . Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ...... Photographs by the senior author. Shannon Plummer 226

PROFILE . Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ...... Michael L. Treglia 234

redation can substantiallyCOMMENTARY influence biotic communities The surrounding habitat is an ecotone between chenopod Pand is therefore an. The important Turtles Have Been aspect Watching of Me the ...... natural his- shrubland and mallee scrubland Eric Gangloff and 238 was dominated by Red tory of both predatorBOOK and REVIEWprey (Sih et al. 1985). Predation is Mallee Trees (Eucalyptus oleosa), and the shrubs Bladder rarely observed and often. Threatened is inferred Amphibians through of the World the edited examination by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann,Saltbrush J.S. Chanson,(Atriplex N.A. vesicaria Cox, ), Bluebush (Maireana sedifolia), of digestive tract contentsR. Berridge, of predators. P. Ramani, and ThisB.E. Young unfortunately ...... and Spiny Goosefoot (Rhagodia Robert Powell ulicina 243 ). The lizard was col- entails the collection and sacrifice of animals from the wild, lected, measured, and dissected to examine its digestive tract  CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ...... 245 which can be perceived NATURAL as unethical HISTORY RESEARCH if not part REPORTS of a :larger Summaries of Publishedcontents. Reports It on had Natural a History snout-vent ...... length, 247 tail length, and body project. However, theNEWBRIEFS collection ...... and dissection of predators mass of 345 mm,...... 493 mm, and 769 g, 248 respectively. The stom-  EDITORIAL INFORMATION ...... 251 found dead on roads FOCUSis an ethical ON CONSERVATION practice for: obtaining A Project You inforCan Support- ...... ach contained the partly digested remains 252 of an adult Painted mation on prey utilized by the predator. Dragon, Ctenophorus pictus (Peters 1866), and a chick of the The Sand Goanna, Varanus gouldii (Gray 1838) (Fig. 1), Mulga Parrot, Psephotellus varius Clark 1910. No scavenging is a large varanid indigenous to most of the more arid regions insects (e.g., ants and beetles) were present, which indicated of continental Australia and the dryFront savannahs Cover. Shannon of Plummer. southern that theBack preyCover. Michaelitems Kernwere not carrion that had been scavenged New Guinea (Cogger 2014). HereinTotat we et reportvelleseque on audant the mo stom - byTotat the etlizard. velleseque To audant the mo best of our knowledge, neither C. pictus estibus inveliquo velique rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil ach contents of a Sand Goanna founderspienimus, dead quos on accullabo. a dirt Ilibus road erspienimus,nor P. varius quos accullabo. have beenIlibus recorded as prey of V. gouldii. (Fig. 2) in the Mid North region ofaut South dolor apicto Australia. invere pe dolum aut dolorSand apicto Goannas invere pe dolum are opportunistic predators that prey on fugiatis maionsequat eumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque At 1910 h on 15 October 2017,moditia ererethe nonsedis senior ma sectiaturauthor amoditia large erere variety nonsedis of ma invertebrates sectia- and vertebrates, as well as car- found a male Sand Goanna dead (Fig.ma derrovitae 3) on voluptam, Salford as quos Road riontur ma(Pianka derrovitae voluptam,1970; Shineas 1986; Losos and Greene 1988; accullabo. (33°55’44”S, 139°17’01”E; elev. 189 m asl; datum: WGS84). Thompson 1995). The considerable variation in the diet of

Fig. 1. The Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii) is a large, relatively common lizard of the more arid regions of Australia. Note the large claws and powerful forelimbs that these lizards use for excavating prey from their burrows.

Fig. 2. The position of the road-killed Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii) described herein. Note the chenopod scrubland and mallee shrubland ecotone on both sides of the road. this species is likely a reflection of prey availability. These fied bird remains from Sand Goanna scats that were collected lizards are active foragers and may travel great distances in in South Australia, and Shine (1986) recorded an Emerald search of prey, detecting them visually or by using olfactory Dove, Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus 1758), and another cues (Pianka 1970; Thompson 1995). Painted Dragons are unidentified bird in the stomachs of these lizards. In addition, fast moving lizards that make use of shallow burrows (Cogger Thompson (1995) reported on a Sand Goanna that climbed 2014), and the Sand Goanna most likely captured the Painted into a shrub to forage. These observations suggest that under Dragon by excavating it from its burrow. Whether the Sand some conditions Sand Goannas may take prey in trees. This Goanna preyed upon the Mulga Parrot chick while it was and other aspects of the natural history of Sand Goannas in still in its nest or whether it was found on the ground can- South Australia warrant further empirical studies. not be determined. Sand Goannas are primarily terrestrial (Pianka 1970), although they will prey on eggs and nest- Acknowledgements lings of nests built near the ground (White 1952). Pianka This observation was made by the senior author while con- (1970) recorded parts of two chicks of an unidentified bird ducting field work as part of his doctoral research, which was as well as several species of arboreal lizards from the stom- partly funded in 2017 by a grant from the Royal Society of achs of Sand Goannas. King (1978) also reported unidenti- South Australia. Clearance for the research was granted by the Animal Welfare Committee of Flinders University (No.: E454/17) and the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources of the Government of South Australia (Permit No.: A23436-25).

Literature Cited Cogger, H.G. 2014. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. 7th ed. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. King, R.D. 1978. Temperature regulation in the Sand Goanna, Varanus gouldii (Gray). Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Losos, J.B. and H.W. Greene. 1988. Ecological and evolutionary implications of diet in monitor lizards. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 35: 379–407. Pianka, E.R. 1970. Notes on the biology of Varanus gouldii flavirufus. The Western Australian Naturalist 11: 141–144. Shine, R. 1986. Food habits, habitats and reproductive biology of four sympatric species of varanid lizards in tropical Australia. Herpetologica 42: 346–360. Sih, A., P. Crowley, M. McPeek, J. Petranka, and K. Strohmeier. 1985. Predation, competition, and prey communities: A review of field experiments. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 16: 269–311. Thompson, G.G. 1995. Foraging patterns and behaviours, body postures and movement speed for goannas, Varanus gouldii (Reptilia: Varanidae), in a semi-urban environment. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 78: 107–114. Fig. 3. The road-killed Sand Goanna (Varanus gouldii) described herein as White, S.R. 1952. Destruction of nestling birds by reptiles. Western Australian it was found on the dirt road. Naturalist 3: 119–120.

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