The marbled water monitor (''Varanus marmoratus''), also known
commonly as the Philippine water monitor, is a large
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
monitor lizard
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 West African Nile monitor, one species is also found in south America as an invasive species. A ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Varanidae
The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea and order Anguimorpha. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous lizards, includes the living genus '' Varanus'' and a number of extinct genera more closely related ...
. The species is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Description
''Varanus marmoratus'' can reach a total length (including tail) of .
[''Marmoratus'']
, Monitor-lizards.net
Geographic range
The marbled water monitor lizard is found on various islands of the noveleta, including
Batanes Islands
Batanes, officially the Province of Batanes (; ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Batanes''; , ), is an archipelagic province in the Philippines, administratively part of the Cagayan Valley regions of the Philippines, region. It is the n ...
,
Babuyan Islands
The Babuyan Islands ( ), also known as the Babuyan Group of Islands, is an archipelago in the Philippines, located in the Luzon Strait north of the main island of Luzon and south of Taiwan. The archipelago consists of five major islands and thei ...
, northern and central
Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
and
Lubang Island
Lubang Island is the largest among the seven islands in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago situated to the northwest of the northern tip of the island of Mindoro in the Philippines. It is positioned approximately 40 kilometers west of C ...
.
Reproduction
''Varanus marmoratus'' is
oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.
[
]
Taxonomy
The monitor lizard from Palawan
Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...
, Mindoro
Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ), it has a population of 1,408,454, as of the 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of ...
, southern Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
and the Sulu Archipelago
The Sulu Archipelago ( Tausug: Kapū'-pūan sin Sūg Sulat Sūg: , ) is a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the southwestern Philippines. The archipelago forms the northern limit of the Celebes Sea and southern limit of the Sulu Se ...
was recently described as a new species, '' Varanus palawanensis''.[ www.reptile-database.org.][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]
See also
*Asian water monitor
The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large Varanidae, varanid lizard native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is widely considered to be the List of largest extant lizards, second-largest lizard species, after the Komodo ...
References
Further reading
* Deraniyagala PEP (1944). "Four New Races of the ''Kabaragoya'' Lizard ''Varanus salvator'' ". ''Spolia Zeylanica'' 24: 59-62. (''Varanus salvator philippinensis'', new subspecies).
* Gaulke M (1999). "''Die Herpetofauna von Calauit Island (Calamianes-Inseln, Provinz Palawan, Philippinen) (Amphibia et Reptilia)''". ''Faun. Abh. Staatl. Mus. Tierk., Dresden'' 21 (19): 273-282. (in German).
*
* Koch A, Auliya M, Schmitz A, Kuch U, Böhme W (2007). "Morphological studies on the systematics of south east Asian water monitors (''Varanus salvator'' Complex): nominotypic populations and taxonomic overview". ''Mertensiella'' 16: 109-180.
* Lagat RD (2009). "A taxonomic account of lizards along established trails in Mts. Palay-Palay Mataas-na-gulod protected landscape, Luzon Island, Philippines". ''Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology'' 3: 17-28.
* (''Varanus manilensis'', new species).
* Mertens R (1942). "''Die Familie der Warane (Varanidae), 3. Teil: Taxonomie'' ". ''Abh. Senckenb. naturf. Ges.'' 466: 235-391. (''Varanus salvator marmoratus'', p. 254). (in German).
* Reyes MAP, Bennett D, Oliveros C (2008). "The Monitor Lizards of Camiguin Island, Northern Philippines". ''Biawak'' 2 (1): 28-36.
* Schlegel H (1837). ''Abbildungen neuer oder unvollständig bekannter Amphibien, nach der Natur oder dem Leben entworfen''. Düsseldorf: Arnz & Company. i-xiv + 141 pp. 837-1844 (''Monitor bivittatus philippensis'', new subspecies). (in German).
* Wiegmann AFA (1834). ''In'': Meyen FJF (1834). "''Beiträge zur Zoologie gesammelt auf einer Reise um die Erde. Siebente Abhandlung. Amphibien'' ". ''Nova Acta Acad. Caesar. Leop. Carol., Halle'' 17: 185-268. (''Hydrosaurus marmoratus'', new species, pp. 196–201, Plate XIV). (in German and Latin).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3554675
Varanus
Reptiles of the Philippines
Reptiles described in 1834
Taxa named by Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann