Black-palmed Rock Monitor

About the Black-palmed Rock Monitor

The black-palmed rock monitor (Varanus glebopalma) is a member of the Varanidae family found in Australia. Also known as the twilight monitor or the long-tailed rock monitor, it is a member of the subgenus Odatria, and is found in the northern part of Australia in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, as well as Queensland. Specifically, its distribution extends from Mount Isa in the east to the Kimberleys in the west. Its habitat is areas of rock escarpment, and large populations may be found in small areas.

A species first described in 1955 by South Australian curator Francis John Mitchell, nominating the holotype as a specimen obtained at Lake Hubert in the Northern Territory. Mitchell's specimen was the only example available, and was shot by R. R. Miller near a sandstone outcrop during the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land.

The new species was allied to the infrageneric classification Varanus (Odatria). Common names for the species include black-palmed and long-tailed rock monitor. The specific epithet glebopalma refers to the shiny black pads found on the undersides of their feet.

The black-palmed rock monitor... Wikipedia →