Yellow-headed water monitor
The yellow-headed water monitor (Varanus cumingi), also commonly known as the Philippine water monitor or Cuming's water monitor, is a large species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. Varanus cumingi was previously recognized as a subspecies of the water monitor (Varanus salvator), but today is acknowledged as a species in its own right.[2][3] It feeds on birds, fish, mammals, and carrion. The species thrives in mangrove, forest and water margins in tropical refuges.
| Yellow-headed water monitor | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Varanidae |
| Genus: | Varanus |
| Subgenus: | Soterosaurus |
| Species: | V. cumingi |
| Binomial name | |
| Varanus cumingi Martin, 1839 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Etymology
The specific name, cumingi, is in honor of English conchologist and botanist Hugh Cuming.[4]
Geographic range
Varanus cumingi is found in the southern Philippines, where it is distributed on Mindanao and a few small nearby islands.
Description
Varanus cumingi has the highest degree of yellow coloration among all the endemic water monitors in the Philippines, probably even in the world.
Habitat
Varanus cumingi inhabits primary and secondary forests, and cultivated lands.
Diet
The diet of V. cumingi is composed of rodents, birds, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates, including eggs and carrion.[5]
Subspecies
Two subspecies were formerly recognized: V. c. cumingi occurring on Mindanao and offshore islands and V. c. samarensis on the islands of Bohol, Leyte and Samar. However, the latter has since been elevated to full species status as Varanus samarensis.
References
- "Varanus cumingi ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- 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". pp. 109-180. In: Horn H-G, Böhme W, Krebs U (editors) (2007). Advances in Monitor Research III. (Mertensiella Series 16). Rheinbach: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde.
- monitor-lizards.net. "Soterosaurus: Mindanao Water Monitor". Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Varanus cumingi, p. 62).
- Avilon Zoo, http://www.avilonzoo.com.ph
Further reading
- Martin [WCL] (1839). "Remarks on two species of Saurian Reptiles". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1838: 68–70. (Varanus cumingi, new species, pp. 69–70). (in English and Latin).