Argus Monitor

About the Argus Monitor

The yellow-spotted monitor (Varanus panoptes), also known as the Argus monitor, is a monitor lizard found in northern and western regions of Australia and southern New Guinea. The first description of the species was provided in a revision of the varanids of Western Australia, where the family is represented by diverse taxa in a wide variety of habitats. Early collections and descriptions of the region's species have historically been uncertain, leading the ICZN to issue an opinion that related to this taxon. A third subspecies was published in 1988, based on specimens from southern New Guinea. The describing author discovered that the specimen selected as the lectotype of Varanus gouldii was in fact assignable to this species, recently described by reptile specialist Glenn Storr. By issuing an opinion on the various taxonomic considerations, the voting members conserved the name published with John Edward Gray's description and stabilised the nomenclature of this species name.

The epithet panoptes was inspired by a mythological figure with one hundred eyes, the protector of Princess Io named Argus Panoptes. The species may be referred to as the floodplains goanna in... Wikipedia →