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REPTILIA:
SQUAMATA: VARANIDAE: Varanus
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Varanus melinus
Böhme and Ziegler, 1997.
Yellow monitor / quince monitor
Photos
& text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.
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Range:
Several of the small islands of eastern Indonesia
between Irian Jaya and Sulawesi, including Obi, Taliabu, Banggai and
Bowokan.
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Diagnosis:
A moderately large (to 1 m/3.1 feet) varanid with
enlarged supraocular scales, a round nostril located nearer the snout tip
than the eye, a pink tongue, a laterally compressed tail, and a
predominantly yellow dorsum.
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Description:
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Natural History:
Yellow monitors were only discovered and named
in late 1997, so little is known of the species in the wild. Captives are
excellent climbers that prefer being in branches to being on or near the
ground.
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Reproduction:
Egg layers: no specific data are known.
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Taxonomy & Relationships:
The relationships of this species are under study.
Preliminary results place it near the mangrove monitors of the Varanus
indicus* group, while other data place it nearer the water monitors (Varanus
salvator).
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Variation:
There is considerable variation in the amount of
yellow pigment known for this species.
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Additional Comments:
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Type Specimen:
ZFMK
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Literature:
Böhme, Wolfgang and Thomas Ziegler. 1997. Varanus
melinus sp. n., ein neuer Waran aus der V. indicus-gruppevon
den Molukken, Indonesien. Herpetofauna (Germany) 19(111):
26-34.
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