| Abstract: | Abstract The ecologies of seven desert species of monitor lizards (Varanus), which are very variable in size, are described and compared. Data are reported on abundance, anatomy, behaviour, body temperature relationships, daily activity patterns, diet, growth, habitat and microhabitat, prey size, reproduction, seasonal patterns of activity, sexual dimorphisms, and tracks. As many as six of the seven species occur together in sympatry at one study site. New results reported here are merged with extensive data collected over the past quarter of a century to provide a comprehensive and detailed overview of numerous aspects of the natural history and ecology of the seven species in the Great Victoria Desert. One species of pygmy monitor has evolved large clutch size for unknown reasons. A food web for 40 species of desert lizards is presented. Hutchinsonian ratios of head lengths (larger/smaller) are significantly greater in two observed assemblages of sympatric varanids than in a null model consisting of all possible pairs of species of all Australian varanids. Evolution of body size and the two adaptive radiations of Varanus in Australia are discussed. |
