Varanus bitatawa

Varanus bitatawa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Scleroglossa
Infraorder:	Anguimorpha
Superfamily:	Varanoidea
Family:	Varanidae
Genus:	Varanus
Subgenus:	V. (Philippinosaurus)
Species:	V. bitatawa
Binomial name
Varanus bitatawa Welton, Siler, Bennett, Diesmos, Duya, Dugay, Rico, Van Weerd, & Brown, 2010

Varanus bitatawa, known by the common name northern Sierra Madre Forest monitor lizard, is a large, arboreal, frugivorous lizard of the genus Varanus.^[1] The lizard is eaten by the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous people of the Philippines,^[2] who call it Butikaw.

Physical description

A dorsal view of Varanus bitatawa with inset showing a lateral view of the head

The forest monitor lizard can grow to more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) in length, but weighs only about 10 kilograms (22 lb). It is brightly colored with stripes of gold flecks.^[1] Its scaly body and legs are a blue-black, mottled color, with pale yellow-green dots, and its tail is marked in alternating segments of black and green.^[3]

News reports emphasized that males have hemipenes, paired penis-like organs.^[3][4] However, all male lizards and snakes have hemipenes.^[5]

Behavior

One of only three frugivorous monitor lizards in the world, the forest monitor prefers to eat the fruit of Pandanus trees.^[1]

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. These findings were published in Biology Letters, a journal of the Royal Society.^[6]

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. ^ ^{a b c} Choi, C. Q. (6 April 2010), Dragon-sized lizard eluded science, until now, MSNBC, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36202290/ns/technology_and_science-science, retrieved 06 April 2010 .
2. ^ Milius, S. (6 April 2010), Scientists Name Large But Elusive Lizard, Science News, http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/57985/description/Scientists_name_large_but_elusive_lizard, retrieved 6 April 2010 
3. ^ ^{a b} New species of giant lizard found in Philippines, AFP, 6 April 2010, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100406/sc_afp/sciencespeciesreptilephilippines_20100406161501;_ylt=AtIVT9l6Wh3IO7H22pUA0dATO7gF, retrieved 06 April 2010 
4. ^ Liyu, Lin (7 April 2010), Lizard with 2 penises found in Philippines, Xinhuanet.com, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-04/07/c_13240614.htm, retrieved 07 April 2010 .
5. ^ Hemipenes, http://www.anapsid.org/hemipenes.html 
6. ^ Welton, Luke J.; Siler, Cameron D.; Bennett, Daniel; Diesmos, Arvin; Duya, M. Roy; Dugay, Roldan; Rico, Edmund Leo B.; Van Weerd, Merlijn et al. (published online April 7, 2010), "A spectacular new Philippine monitor lizard reveals a hidden biogeographic boundary and a novel flagship species for conservation", Biol. Lett. 6 (5): 654–8, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0119, PMC 2936141, PMID 20375042, http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2010/04/01/rsbl.2010.0119.short?rss=1 .

External links

• Images of Varanus bitatawa from Reuters
• Background and images of Varanus bitatawa