Post by Ceratodromeus on Nov 27, 2016 0:57:50 GMT 5
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Reptilia
Suborder: Lacertilia
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Euprepiosaurus
Species: V. semotus
Description
This is a new species of the Varanus indicus group of the Euprepiosaurus subgenus that was discovered & collected in 2012 and was published earlier this year. The holotype animal(catalogue number ZMUT Sa176), was collected North of a village on Mussau Island, Papau New Guinea. This animal, 1.01m in total length(SVL measurement of 390mm, tail length of 620mm), had a dark dorsal coloration mottled with yellow; one young indiviual photographed had orange spotting near the vent. The ventral side of the animal possessed a similar coloration, albeit lighter. Like few members of this subgenus, V.semotus possesses yellow pigmentation on the tongue. It is distinguished from the very similar V.doreanus via lower scale counts{1}.
{1}A new blue-tailed Monitor lizard (Reptilia, Squamata, Varanus) of the Varanus indicus group from Mussau Island, Papua New Guinea
Abstract
We describe a new species of Varanus from Mussau Island, north-east of New Guinea. The new species is a member of the Varanus indicus species group and is distinguished from all other members by both morphological and molecular genetic characters. It is the third species of Varanus reported from the Bismarck Archipelago and the first record of a yellow tongued member of the Varanus indicus species group from a remote oceanic island. The herpetofauna of Mussau Island has not been well studied but the discovery of this new species is in accordance with recent findings indicating that the island may harbor several unknown endemic vertebrates. The distribution of the closely related Varanus finschi is also discussed in the light of recent fieldwork and a review of old records.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4829673/
