Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor

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Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor
Varanus bitatawa (KU 322188) from Barangay Dibuluan, San Mariano - ZooKeys-266-001-g069.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Philippinosaurus
Species:
V. bitatawa
Binomial name
Varanus bitatawa
Welton, Siler, Bennett, Diesmos, Duya, Dugay, Rico, Van Weerd, & Brown, 2010

The Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor (Varanus bitatawa), also known by the local names bitatawa, baritatawa, and butikaw, is a large, arboreal, frugivorous lizard of the genus Varanus . [2] [3] The lizard is a distinctive food of the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous people of the Philippines. [4]

Contents

Description

Dorsal view of Varanus bitatawa with inset showing a lateral view of the head Varanus bitatawa.jpg
Dorsal view of Varanus bitatawa with inset showing a lateral view of the head

The forest monitor lizard can grow to more than 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in length, and weigh up to 15 kg (33 lb), or possibly more. [5] Its scaly body and legs are a blue-black mottled with pale yellow-green dots, while its tail is marked in alternating segments of black and green. [6] Dorsal ground coloration is black, accentuated with bright golden yellow in life, while the dorsum is golden yellow spots and flecks. [2]

News reports emphasized that males have hemipenes, paired penis-like organs. [6] [7] However, all male lizards and snakes have hemipenes. [8]

Behavior

Varanus bitatawa is one of only three species of frugivorous monitor lizards, along with V. olivaceus and V. mabitang. [2]

The diet of the Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor is reliant on the fruit of Pandan palm trees and Canarium . [9] As a result it is likely an important seed disperser of these plants, but particularly of Canarium, because the consumption of its fruit by monitors of the subgenus Philippinosaurus is an unusual adaptation amongst vertebrates, being able to detoxify the high levels of secondary compounds such as calcium oxalate which otherwise makes digestion difficult. [10]

During June and July, the short fruiting season of Microcos stylocarpa occurs, and their diet then switches to mostly consisting of its sugary berries as opposed to the oilier fruits of Pandan palms and Canarium. [10]

Like V. olivaceus, and unlike V. mabitang, it is not a strict herbivore, supplementing its frugivorous diet with insects and snails. [10]

They spend most of their time in trees, more than 20 meters above the ground; similar species spend less than 20 minutes on the ground per week. [11]

Taxonomy and distribution

Varanus bitatawa was described as a new species in April 2010 by biologists from the University of Kansas. DNA analysis has revealed genetic divergence between this species and its closest relative, Gray's Monitor (Varanus olivaceus), which is also a fruit-eater, but lives on the southern end of Luzon, rather than the northern end where the forest monitor lizard lives. [2]

The known range of Varanus bitatawa is currently limited to the Sierra Madre Forest on the northeastern coast of the island of Luzon, Philippines.

Varanus bitatawa is most closely related to another species of fruit-eating monitor from the Philippines, V. olivaceus. The relationship of these two species to the third known species of fruit-eating monitor, V. mabitang, is unknown due to a lack of genetic data on V. mabitang, but similar genital morphology [12] suggests that these three species are each others' closest relatives (sometimes referred to as subgenus Philippinosaurus [13] ).

Fruit-eating monitor lizards are most closely related to a larger Indo-Asian clade of small monitor lizards that includes the arboreal V. prasinus complex and the mangrove monitors (V. indicus complex). [13] [14] They are more distantly related to other Indo-Asian monitor lizards, such as V. salvator, and still more distantly related to Indo-Australian monitors, including the well-known Komodo dragon of Indonesia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varanidae</span> Family of lizards

The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea and order Anguimorpha. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous lizards, includes the living genus Varanus and a number of extinct genera more closely related to Varanus than to the earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus). Varanus includes the Komodo dragon, crocodile monitor, savannah monitor, the goannas of Australia and Southeast Asia, and various other species with a similarly distinctive appearance. Their closest living relatives are the earless monitor lizard and chinese crocodile lizard. The oldest members of the family are known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monitor lizard</span> Genus of reptiles

Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus Varanus, the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recognized.

<i>Parvoscincus</i> Genus of lizards

Parvoscincus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to the Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polillo Island</span> Island in the Philippines

Polillo is an island in the northeastern region of the Philippine archipelago. It is the largest island and the namesake of the Polillo Islands. It is separated from Luzon Island by the Polillo Strait and forms the northern side of Lamon Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gray's monitor</span> Species of lizard

The Gray's monitor is a large monitor lizard known only from lowland dipterocarp forest in southern Luzon, Catanduanes, and Polillo Island, all islands in the Philippines. It is also known as Gray's monitor lizard, butaan, and ornate monitor. It belongs to the subgenus Philippinosaurus. It is largely arboreal and extremely shy. The population of northern Luzon was formerly included in the Gray's monitor, but has been recognized as a separate species, the northern Sierra Madre forest monitor, since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzon fruit bat</span> Species of bat

The Luzon fruit bat is a species of megabat in the family Pteropodidae. It is the only species within the genus Otopteropus and is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panay monitor</span> Species of lizard

The Panay monitor is an endangered monitor lizard native to Panay Island in the Philippines. Unlike most monitors, it is a specialized frugivore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-headed water monitor</span> Species of lizard

The yellow-headed water monitor, also commonly known as Cuming's water monitor, the Mindanao water monitor, and the Philippine water monitor, is a large species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines. It thrives in mangrove, forest and water margins in tropical refuges, where it feeds on birds, fishes, mammals, and carrion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of the Philippines</span> Flora and fauna of the Philippines

The wildlife of the Philippines includes a significant number of endemic plant and animal species. The country's surrounding waters reportedly have the highest level of marine biodiversity in the world. The Philippines is one of the seventeen megadiverse countries and is a global biodiversity hotspot. In 2013, 700 of the country's 52,177 species were listed as threatened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turquoise monitor</span> Species of lizard

The turquoise monitor is a species of monitor lizards found in Indonesia. Specifically, it is found on Halmahera Island and in the Maluku Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceram mangrove monitor</span> Species of lizard

The Ceram mangrove monitor is a species of monitor lizards found in Indonesia. Specifically, it is found on some of the central Moluccan Islands including: Ambon, Seram, Obi, Buru, and Banda. On Ambon and probably on New Guinea V. cerambonensis occurs sympatrically with Varanus indicus. It is in the indicus species group of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus.

Finsch's monitor is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to New Guinea and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marbled water monitor</span> Species of lizard

The marbled water monitor, also known commonly as the Philippine water monitor, is a large species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

Lepidosaur herbivory describes herbivorous lepidosaurs. Living non-avian reptiles form a paraphyletic group that consists of over 9,000 species of crocodiles, turtles, and lepidosaurs. The most diverse group, Lepidosauria, is first known from the Middle Triassic fossils, but likely originated in the Permian. Living lepidosaurs, which include snakes, lizards, and rhynchocephalians, occupy a wide range of environments and niches. The lepidosaurs have many similar anatomical morphology like transverse cloaca, distal tongue, superficial teeth attachment, fused pelvic bones etc. Though widely viewed as obligate carnivores, a small number of lepidosaurs are known to consume plant material. For example, there are roughly 3,300 species of living lizards and approximately 3% of them eat at least some plants. Though the exact definition of herbivory varies significantly between scientists, most define herbivorous lepidosaurs as those that consume plants for approximately 70-90% of its diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quezon Protected Landscape</span>

The Quezon Protected Landscape is a protected area in the Republic of the Philippines, spanning the municipalities of Pagbilao, Padre Burgos and Atimonan in Quezon province. The park is situated north of the narrowest section of Luzon in Quezon province, located about 164 km (102 mi) southeast of Metro Manila.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Madre (Philippines)</span> Mountain range in the Philippines

The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range in the Philippines. Spanning over 540 kilometers (340 mi), it runs from the province of Cagayan down to the province of Quezon, forming a north–south direction on the eastern portion of Luzon, the largest island of the archipelago. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, Cagayan Valley to the northwest, Central Luzon to the midwest, and Calabarzon to the southwest. Some communities east of the mountain range, along the coast, are less developed and so remote that they could only be accessed by taking a plane or a boat.

<i>Parvoscincus leucospilos</i> Species of lizard

Parvoscincus leucospilos, the white-spotted sphenomorphus, is a species of skink endemic to the Philippines. It is found between 300 and 1,200 m above sea levels in the forests of central and southern Sierra Madre Mountain Range of Luzon Island. This skink hides under rocks or in debris in the banks of streams and rivers. When threatened by predators, such as snakes, it may dive and stay under water for a long time.

<i>Luperosaurus kubli</i> Species of lizard

Luperosaurus kubli is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to Luzon in the Philippines.

The Aurora mountain skink is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

Philippinosaurus is one of the 11 subgenera of the genus Varanus. The group consists of three frugivorous species endemic to the Philippines.

References

  1. ↑ Diesmos, A.C.; Diesmos, M.; Lorenzo, A.; Necesito, L.; Sy, E. (2022). "Varanus bitatawa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2022: e.T199808A2612546. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Welton, L. J.; Siler, C. D.; Bennett, D.; Diesmos, A.; Duya, M. R.; Dugay, R.; Rico, E. L. B.; Van Weerd, M.; Brown, R. M. (2010). "A spectacular new Philippine monitor lizard reveals a hidden biogeographic boundary and a novel flagship species for conservation". Biology Letters. 6 (5): 654–658. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0119. ISSN   1744-9561. PMC   2936141 . PMID   20375042.
  3. ↑ "Third Quarter Topical Issue – Philippine Endemic Lizards". PHLPOST. Philippine Postal Corporation. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Milius, S. (6 April 2010). "Scientists Name Large But Elusive Lizard". Science News. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  5. ↑ First record of Varanus bitatawa in the Philippine pet trade. Sy, EMERSON Y. p. 73.
  6. 1 2 AFP (7 April 2010). "New giant, double-penis lizard - Varanus bitatawa or monitor lizard - found on Luzon Island in the Philippines". Herald Sun. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  7. ↑ Liyu, Lin (7 April 2010). "Lizard with 2 penises found in Philippines". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010..
  8. ↑ "Hemipenes". Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "New Lizard Species Discovered in Philippines". Leiden University Research Portal News. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 Law, Stephanie (July 2018). "Diet and Habitat Requirements of the Philippine Endemic Frugivorous Monitor Lizard Varanus bitatawa". Biawak. 12 (1): 12–22.
  11. ↑ Owen, James (7 April 2010). "New Giant Lizard Discovery "an Unprecedented Surprise"". National Geographic News. National Geographic. Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  12. ↑ Böhme, Wolfgang; Ziegler, Thomas (2009). "A review of iguanian and anguimorph lizard genitalia (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae; Varanoidea, Shinisauridae, Xenosauridae, Anguidae) and their phylogenetic significance: comparisons with molecular data sets". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 47 (2): 189–202. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2008.00495.x .
  13. 1 2 Ast, JC (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA evidence and evolution in Varanoidea (Squamata)" (PDF). Cladistics. 17 (3): 211–226. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2001.tb00118.x. hdl: 2027.42/72302 . S2CID   53623809.
  14. ↑ Pyron, RA; Burbrink, F; Wiens, JJ (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13: 93. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-93 . PMC   3682911 . PMID   23627680.
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