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Yellow-headed water monitor

Species of lizard

Yellow-headed water monitor
Summary

Species of lizard

Martin, 1839

  • Varanus salvator cumingi — Mertens, 1942
  • Varanus cumingi — Koch et al., 2007
  • Varanus (Soterosaurus) cumingi — Koch et al., 2010
Juvenile

The yellow-headed water monitor (Varanus cumingi), also commonly known as Cuming's water monitor, the Mindanao water monitor, and the Philippine water monitor, is a large species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines. It thrives in mangrove, forest and water margins in tropical refuges, where it feeds on birds, fishes, mammals, and carrion.

Taxonomy

V. cumingi was previously recognized as a subspecies of the water monitor (Varanus salvator), but since 2007 is acknowledged as a species in its own right.

Etymology

The specific name, cumingi, is in honor of English conchologist and botanist Hugh Cuming.

Geographic range

V. cumingi is found in the southern Philippines, where it is distributed on Mindanao and a few small nearby islands.

Description

V. cumingi has the highest degree of yellow coloration among all the endemic water monitors in the Philippines. The V. cumingi is a large lizard and medium-sized monitor lizard. The largest specimens its species can reaching a length of 1.5 m with a snout-vent length of 60 cm and 2.5 kg in a mass.

Habitat

''V. cumingi''

The preferred natural habitats of V. cumingi are mangroves and moist forest, but it is also abundant in artificial habitats such as fish ponds and cultivated lands.

Diet

The diet of V. cumingi is composed of rodents, birds, fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates, including eggs and carrion.

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

References

  1. [[species:Emerson Y. Sy. Sy E]], [[species:Arvin Cantor Diesmos. Diesmos A]], [[species:Philip Godfrey Cosep Jakosalem. Jakosalem PG]], [[species:Juan Carlos Tecson Gonzalez. Gonzalez JC]], [[species:Lisa Paguntalan. Paguntalan LM]], [[species:Arnold D. Demigillo. Demegillo A]], Custodio C, Delima E, Tampos G, [[species:Maren Gaulke. Gaulke M]], Jose R (2009). "''Varanus cumingi'' ". The [[IUCN]] Red List of Threatened Species 2009: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009-2.RLTS.T169897A6687602.en. Accessed on 06 May 2022.
  2. {{EMBL species
  3. [[species:André Koch. Koch A]], [[species:Mark Auliya. Auliya M]], [[:fr:Andreas Schmitz. Schmitz A]], [[species:Ulrich Kuch. Kuch U]], [[:de:Wolfgang Böhme (Zoologe). 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'':''' [[species:Hans-Georg Horn. Horn H-G]], Böhme W, [[species:Uwe Krebs. Krebs U]] (editors) (2007). ''Advances in Monitor Research III''. (Mertensiella Series 16). Rheinbach: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde.
  4. monitor-lizards.net. "''Soterosaurus'': Mindanao Water Monitor".
  5. [[species:Bo Beolens. Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins. 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).
  6. (2004). "Varanoid Lizards of the World". Indiana University Press.
  7. "Visual Identification Guide for the Monitor Lizard Species of the World (Genus Varanus)".
  8. Avilon Zoo, http://www.avilonzoo.com.ph
  9. {{EMBL species
Wikipedia Source

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