Marbled water monitor

Last updated

Marbled water monitor
Varanus marmoratus (KU 330731) from low-elevation, Mt. Cagua - ZooKeys-266-001-g068.jpg
On Mt. Cagua
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Soterosaurus
Species:
V. marmoratus
Binomial name
Varanus marmoratus
(Wiegmann, 1834) [2]
Synonyms [3]
  • Hydrosaurus marmoratus
    Wiegmann, 1834
  • Monitor bivittatus philippensis
    Schlegel, 1844
  • Varanus manilensis
    Martens, 1876
  • Varanus salvator marmoratus
    Mertens, 1942
  • Varanus salvator philippinensis
    Deraniyagala, 1944
  • Varanus marmoratus
    Koch et al., 2007
  • Varanus (Soterosaurus) marmoratus
    — Koch et al., 2010

The marbled water monitor (Varanus marmoratus), 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.

Contents

Description

Varanus marmoratus can reach a total length (including tail) of 2 m (6.6 ft). [2]

Geographic range

The marbled water monitor lizard is found on various islands of the noveleta, including Batanes Islands, Babuyan Islands, northern and central Luzon and Lubang Island. [4]

Reproduction

Varanus marmoratus is oviparous. [3]

Taxonomy

The monitor lizard from Palawan, Mindoro, southern Luzon and the Sulu Archipelago was recently described as a new species, Varanus palawanensis . [3] [5]

See also

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 within the Anguimorpha group. 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.

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

The Nile monitor is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile, with invasive populations in North America. The population in West African forests and savannahs is sometimes recognized as a separate species, the West African Nile monitor. It is one of the largest lizards in the world reaching and even surpassing the perentie by size. Other common names include the African small-grain lizard, as well as iguana and various forms derived from it, such as guana, water leguaan or river leguaan. A feral population of the lizards, descended from escaped or intentionally released pets, has become established in several locations in Florida.

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

The Asian water monitor is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast Asia, and southern China to Indonesian islands where it lives close to water. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It was described by Laurenti in 1768 and is among the largest squamates in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black tree monitor</span> Species of reptile

The black tree monitor or Beccari's monitor is a species of lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is a relatively small member of the family, growing to about 90–120 cm (35–47 in) in total length. V. beccarii is endemic to the Aru Islands off New Guinea, living in an arboreal habitat. The skin color of adults is completely black, to which one common name refers.

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

The spiny-tailed monitor, also known as the Australian spiny-tailed monitor, the ridge-tailed monitor the Ackie's dwarf monitor, and colloquially simply ackie monitor, is an Australian species of lizard belonging to the genus of monitor lizards (Varanus).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated monitor</span> Subspecies of lizard

The black-throated monitor is a subspecies of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The subspecies is native to Tanzania.

<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">Peach-throated monitor</span> Species of lizard

The peach-throated monitor, also known commonly as the Sepik monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to New Guinea.

<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.

The black-spotted ridge-tailed monitor, also called commonly the black-spotted spiny-tailed monitor, the lemon-throated monitor, the northern ridge-tailed monitor, Whites monitor, and the yellow-throated monitor, is a subspecies of lizard in the family Varanidae. The subspecies is native to Australia's tropical Northern Territory. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is considered common and not threatened. It was first described in 1987. It is also known as White's dwarf goanna.

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

The black roughneck monitor is a species of monitor lizard found in Southeast Asian countries of Thailand, Burma, and Malaysia. It is also found in Indonesia on Sumatra and islands of the Riau Archipelago It is sometimes known simply as the roughneck monitor. In Thailand is called h̄èā cĥāng.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor</span> Species of lizard

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

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

The blue-tailed monitor, blue-tailed tree monitor or Kalabeck's monitor, is a monitor lizard of the Varanidae family. It belongs to the V. doreanus group of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus.

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

Dumeril's monitor is a species of lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia.

<i>Varanus kordensis</i> Species of lizard

Varanus kordensis, the Biak tree monitor, is a member of the Varanidae family found on Biak Island in Indonesia. It is also known as the Kordo tree monitor. Long considered a subspecies of the emerald tree monitor, most authorities now treat it as a separate species.

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

The Palawan water monitor is a quite large species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines.

<i>Varanus spinulosus</i> Species of lizard

Varanus spinulosus, the Solomon Island spiny monitor, Isabel monitor, or spiny-neck monitor, is a species of monitor lizard. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands archipelago and is also known from Santa Isabel Island, San Jorge Island and Bourgainville Island.

<i>Varanus reisingeri</i> Species of lizard

Varanus reisingeri, known commonly as Reisinger's tree monitor and the Yellow tree monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Indonesia. It was at one point at least considered an allopatric insular subspecies of the green tree monitor, due to physical and genetic similarities.

Varanus bangonorum, the Bangon monitor lizard, is a species of lizard of the Varanidae family. It is found in the Philippines.

References

  1. Gaulke, M.; Sy, E.; Afuang, L.; Duya, M.R.; Diesmos, M.; Gonzalez, J.C. (2009). "Varanus marmoratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2009: e.T169844A6681364. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Marmoratus Archived 2010-05-19 at the Wayback Machine , Monitor-lizards.net
  3. 1 2 3 Species Varanus marmoratus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Welton LJ, Travers SL, Siler CD, Brown RM (2014). "Integrative taxonomy and phylogeny-based species delimitation of Philippine water monitor lizards (Varanus salvator Complex) with descriptions of two new cryptic species. Zootaxa3881 (3): 201-227.
  5. University of Bonn (2010). "Three new monitor lizards from the Philippines identified". ScienceDaily, 19 May 2010. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100517070208.htm

Further reading