Peach-throated monitor explained
The peach-throated monitor (Varanus jobiensis), also known as the Sepik monitor, is a species of monitor lizard native to New Guinea.
Taxonomy
Varanus jobiensis belongs to the subgenus Euprepiosaurus, which includes species such as the blue-tailed monitor and mangrove monitor, both of which it is sympatric with in much of its range.
It is likely that this species is actually a species complex of multiple different species that have been diverging since the Pliocene, and diverged from the V. indicus species complex 4.7 million years ago.[1]
Distribution
Peach-throated monitors are endemic to New Guinea and surrounding islands such as Biak, Salawati, Yapen, Normanby, and Waigeo. It occurs in rainforests at altitudes of 0-.
Description
Peach-throated monitors grow up to 120cm (50inches) in total length (including tail). The colour of the throat is white-yellow to red, to which one of its common names refers.
Diet
Peach-throated monitors primarily eat insects, and sometimes frogs, but may also take freshwater fish and small mammals.[2]
As food
Peach-throated monitors are hunted for human consumption in New Guinea.[3]
Reproduction
Peach-throated monitors are oviparous.
Etymology
The specific name, jobiensis, which is Latin, means "from Jobi". Jobi is the island also known as Yapen, which is the type locality of this species.
The junior synonym, Varanus karlschmidti, was named in honour of American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt.[4]
Further reading
- Ahl E (1932). "Eine neue Eidechse und zwei neue Frösche von der Insel Jobi ". Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 17: 892–899. (Varanus indicus jobiensis, new subspecies, p. 892). (in German).
- Mertens R (1951). "A New Lizard of the Genus Varanus from New Guinea". Fieldiana Zoology 31 (43): 467–471. (Varanus karlschmidti, new species).
- Ziegler T, Schmitz A, Koch A, Böhme W (2007). "A review of the subgenus Euprepiosauras of Varanus (Squamata: Varanidae): morphological and molecular phylogeny, distribution and zoogeography, with an identification key for members of the V. indicus and V. prasinus species groups". Zootaxa 1472: 1-28.
External links
Notes and References
- Weijola. Valter. Vahtera. Varpu. Lindqvist. Christer. Kraus. Fred. 2019-07-23. A molecular phylogeny for the Pacific monitor lizards (Varanus subgenus Euprepiosaurus) reveals a recent and rapid radiation with high levels of cryptic diversity. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. en. 186. 4. 1053–1066. 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz002. 0024-4082.
- http://www.mampam.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=65 Varanus jobiensi at mampam Consevation. mampam.com
- Pangau-Adam, Margaretha; Noske, Richard; Muehlenberg, Michael (2012). "Wildmeat or Bushmeat? Subsistence Hunting and Commercial Harvesting in Papua (West New Guinea), Indonesia". Human Ecology 40: 611–621.
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Varanus karlschmidti, p. 236).
