Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor
File:Varanus bitatawa (KU 322188) from Barangay Dibuluan, San Mariano - ZooKeys-266-001-g069.jpg
Varanus bitatawa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Suborder:
Infraorder:
Superfamily:
Family:
Genus:
Subgenus:
V. (Philippinosaurus)
Species:
V. bitatawa
Binomial name
Varanus bitatawa
Welton, Siler, Bennett, Diesmos, Duya, Dugay, Rico, Van Weerd, & Brown, 2010

Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

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.[1][2] The lizard is a staple food of the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous people of the Philippines.[3]

Description

File: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 (6.6 ft) in length, but weighs only about 10 kg (22 lb). "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."[4] Dorsal ground coloration is black, "accentuated with bright golden yellow in life, while the dorsum is golden yellow spots and flecks.[1]

News reports emphasized that males have hemipenes, paired penis-like organs.[4][5] However, all male lizards and snakes have hemipenes.[6]

Behavior

V. batawaka is one of only three frugivorous lizards in the Varanidae family Along with V. olivaceus One of only three frugivorous monitor lizards in the world,.[1]

forest monitor specializes in eating the fruit of Pandan palm trees.[7] 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.[8]

Taxonomy and distribution

V. bitatawa is closely related to the Komodo dragon of Indonesia. It was confirmed as a new species in April 2010 by biologists from the University of Kansas. DNA analysis has revealed a deep 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.[1]

The lizard's known range is currently limited to the Sierra Madre Forest, in the northeastern coast of the island of Luzon, Philippines.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found..
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links