Varanus sp. nov. 'Central Australia'
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
It has not yet been established that it is an undescribed species:
"The morphometric variation encompassed by these specimens indicates the presence of a varanid intermediate in size between V. komodoensis and V. prisca (sensu stricto)... Whether these specimens represent a diachronous sample across the middle to late Pleistocene, or a morphocline of Pleistocene giant varanids from smaller central Australian forms toward larger eastern Australian forms is yet to be determined. Regardless, these specimens indicate a giant varanid present in central Australia during the Pleistocene"
(Hocknull et al., 2009)
Conservation Status
Extinct if valid
Last record: Late Pleistocene (Hocknull et al., 2009)
Distribution
Central Australia
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Hocknull, Scott A., Piper, P. J., van den Bergh, G. D., Due, R. A., Morwood, M. J. and Kurniawan, I. (2009). Dragon's Paradise Lost: Palaeobiogeography, Evolution and Extinction of the Largest-Ever Terrestrial Lizards (Varanidae). PLoS ONE 4(9): e7241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007241
Hocknull, Scott A. et al. (2020). Extinction of eastern Sahul megafauna coincides with sustained environmental deterioration. Nature Communications 11: 2250. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15785-w