Varanus rosenbergi
3 Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor at Woodlands, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Varanus rosenbergi | 22 Nov 2019 | PatrickCampbell | ||
| Varanus varius | 22 Nov 2019 | haynesb |
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Significant sighting
User's notes
Juvenile Lace Monitor
5 comments
Margot
wrote:
23 Nov 2019
Hi Haynesb, great find! I've just uploaded a cropped version of your photo so it will be a bit easier for our reptile moderators to see. Cheers, Margot (Southern Highlands Nature Map Admin).
PatrickCampbell
wrote:
23 Nov 2019
It's a Heath Goanna (Varanus rosenbergi), which is an even greater find, as it's not only a rare and vulnerable species in NSW but it's our first recorded sighting on SHNM.
A good way to tell these two species apart, is by looking at the tail bands. Lacies have fewer and broader, pale tail bands, whereas Heathies have relatively evenly spaced, narrower, pale bands along the entire length of the tail.
A different behavioural response to potential predators can also be observed, as Lacies invariably go up a nearby tree, whereas Heathies tend to stay on the ground or disappear down a burrow.
Thanks for cropping the image Margot.
A good way to tell these two species apart, is by looking at the tail bands. Lacies have fewer and broader, pale tail bands, whereas Heathies have relatively evenly spaced, narrower, pale bands along the entire length of the tail.
A different behavioural response to potential predators can also be observed, as Lacies invariably go up a nearby tree, whereas Heathies tend to stay on the ground or disappear down a burrow.
Thanks for cropping the image Margot.
haynesb
wrote:
23 Nov 2019
Thanks to you both. I’m learning a lot already. You’re so right about how it behaved too.
PatrickCampbell
wrote:
23 Nov 2019
You're welcome Haynes. Congratulations on making such a significant sighting.
BLSHTwo
wrote:
25 Nov 2019
That's an awesome find. I still haven't seen one in the highlands yet, well done!
Location information
- Places Woodlands, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- haynesb Recorded by
Collections
- Reptiles and Frogs Significant haynesb Southern Highlands NatureMapr Varanus rosenbergi Monitors & Geckos Reptiles and Frogs
Species information
- Varanus rosenbergi Scientific name
- Heath or Rosenberg's Monitor Common name
- Sensitive
- Vulnerable *
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1432.1m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
4 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes