Finsch's monitor explained

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

Etymology

The specific name, finschi, is in honor of German naturalist Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch (1839–1917).^[1]

Geographic range

Finsch's monitor was only known from Blanche Bay, Ralum, and Massawa in New Britain.^[2] Further research on the available museum specimens enlarged the range of the species, which currently includes the Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland), New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.^{[3] [4]} The specimen from Queensland lacks any fixed data on its locality, so the exact distribution of Finsch's monitor in Northern Australia remains unknown.

Pet trade

Reports of this species, V. finschi, imported for the pet trade from the Kei Islands are erroneous and refer to similar though distinct animals that have yet to be formally described.

Habitat

V. finschi is found in several habitats: mangrove forest, inland forest, fresh-cut clearings, coconut plantations, and rocky beaches.^[5]

Taxonomy

V. finschi belongs to the subgenus Euprepiosaurus along with the closely related Ceram mangrove monitor, Varanus (Euprepiosaurus) cerambonensis, and the peach-throated monitor, Varanus (Euprepiosaurus) jobiensis.^[6]

Description

The dorsal pattern of V. finschi adults consists of "black ocelli, which are often arranged in irregular transverse rows - with a yellowish center on a dark grayish background." The dark head of V. finschi is speckled with many yellowish spots. Its tongue color is pink.^[7]

Reproduction

V. finschi is oviparous.

Conservation status

Finsch's monitor is of Least Concern as evaluated by the IUCN.^[8]

Further reading

• Ast, Jennifer C. (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA Evidence and Evolution in Varanoidea (Squamata)". Cladistics 17 (3): 211–226. [erratum in '''18''' (1): 125].
• De Lisle HF (1996). The Natural History of Monitor Lizards. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing. 201 pp. .
• Koch A, Arida E,, Böhme W, Ziegler T (2009). "Refining the polytypic species concept of mangrove monitors (Squamata: Varanus indicus group): a new cryptic species from the Talaud Islands, Indonesia, reveals the underestimated diversity of Indo-Australian monitor lizards". Australian Journal of Zoology 57 (1): 29–40.
• Philipp KM, Ziegler T, Böhme W (2007). "Preliminary Investigations of the Natural Diet of Six Monitor Lizard Species of the Varanus (Euprepiosaurus) indicus Group". Mertensiella 16: 336–345.
• Ziegler T, Schmitz A, Koch A, Böhme W (2007). "A review of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus of Varanus (Squamata: Varanidae): morphological and molecular phylogeny, distribution and zoogeography, with an identification key for the members of the V. indicus and the V. prasinus species groups". Zootaxa 1472: 1–28.
• Ziegler, Thomas; Böhme, Wolfgang; Schmitz, Andreas (2007). "A new species of the Varanus indicus group (Squamata, Varanidae) from Halmahera Island, Moluccas: morphological and molecular evidence". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin 83 (S1): 109–119.

External links

• List of monitor lizards at kingsnake.com

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. , Horn H-G, (1994). "Zur Taxonomie der Pazifikwarane (Varanus-indicus-Komplex): Revalidierung von Varanus doreanus (A. B. Meyer, 1874) mit Beschreibung einer neuen Unterart ". Salamandra 30 (2): 119–142. (Varanus doreanus finschi, new subspecies, p. 137). (in German). (Abstract and image captions in English).
3. Ziegler T, Philipp KM, Böhme W (1999). "Zum Artstatus und zur Genitalmorphologie von Varanus finschi BÖHME, HORN & ZIEGLER 1994, mit neuen Verbreitungsangaben für V. finschi und V. doreanus (MEYER 1874) (Reptilia: Sauria: Varanidae)". Zoologische Abhandlungen, Staatlisches Museum für Tierkunde in Dresden 50 (2): 267–279. (in German).
4. Ziegler T, Böhme W, Eidenmüller B, Philipp K (2001). "A note on the coexistence of three species of Pacific monitor lizards in Australia (Sauria, Varanidae, Varanus indicus group)". Bonner zoologische Beiträge 50 (1–2): 27–30.
5. [species:Heini Hediger|Hediger H]
6. http://www.kingsnake.com/monitor/species.html Kingsnake.com (Retrieved April 28, 2010)
7. [species:Robert G. Sprackland|Sprackland RG]
8. [species:Daniel Bennett|Bennett D]