Varanus pilbarensis (Pilbara Rock Monitor)

IUCN Status: Not Yet Assessed

Just after dawn in the Pilbara we were searching for basking reptiles in the spinifex and rocks. We spotted this guy half way up an escarpment. These are small, slender goannas with distinctive colouration. This is apparently very typical habitat of this species, and it’s obviously perfect for them to blend into.

Their range is limited to a relatively small area in the northern Pilbara (about the size of Tasmania) roughly described by a 400km circle catered on Karratha and radiating out about 400Km.