Varanus togianus (PETERS, 1872)

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Higher Taxa	Varanidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names
Synonym	Monitor (Hydrosaurus) togianus PETERS 1872: 582 Varanus togianus — BOULENGER 1885: 316 Varanus togianus — DE ROOIJ 1915: 147 Varanus salvator togianus — MERTENS 1941: 272 Varanus salvator togianus — BAUER et al. 1995: 67 Varanus cf. togianus — KOCH & ACCIAIOLI 2007 Varanus togianus — KOCH et al. 2007 Varanus (Soterosaurus) togianus — KOCH et al. 2010 Varanus (Soterosaurus) togianus — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50
Distribution	Togian Islands, Sulawesi, Indonesia Type locality: “Togian-Inseln (Timotto)” [Indonesia]
Reproduction	oviparous
Types	Lectotype: ZMB 7388 (designated by MERTENS 1942)
Diagnosis	Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1391 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details.
Comment	The melanistic taxon togianus is a member of the V. salvator complex, characterized by the combination of (1) a dark (in preservative dark brown, in life black) dorsal background colour with dark scales more or less encircled by light brown to orange granula forming light distal margins; (2) lacking any spots or ocelli dorsally; (3) a unicoloured dark tail without light crossbands; (4) a dark coloured ventral side with distinctive yellowish rectangles on the chin and throat; (5) more than ten indistinct light crossbands on the belly; and (6) large (ventral) scales mirrored by the presence of OTU 14 in cluster I (i.e. lowest mean values) of nine in thirteen parameters (P, Q, S, T, N, TN, U, c and m). For pholidotic characters S, T, N, TN, and m these monitor lizards reveal the lowest mean scale counts on the ventral side among all taxa under investigation. The remaining diagnostic feature is the double mean head length relative to its width (index 10: 1.78-2.29, x = 2.05, s = 0.19). All other taxa have a shorter mean head length (index 10: x < 2.00). [from KOCH et al. 2007].
Etymology	named after its type locality.
References	Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp. Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here de Rooij, N. de 1915. The Reptiles of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. I. Lacertilia, Chelonia, Emydosauria. Leiden (E. J. Brill), xiv + 384 pp. - get paper here Even, E. 2009. Neuer Nachweis für drei Schlangenarten für die Togian-Inseln, Sulawesi. Elaphe 17 (1): 56-59 FRÝDLOVÁ, PETRA and DANIEL FRYNTA 2010. A test of Rensch’s rule in varanid lizards. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 100: 293–306 - get paper here GLÄSSER-TROBISCH, A. & TROBISCH, D. 2020. Begegnungen mit Hydrosaurus & Co. in der Wallacea. Teil 1: Drachen im Reich der Schmetterlinge – Sulawesi Sauria 42 (3): 1-25 - get paper here Koch A, Ziegler T, Böhme W, Arida E, Auliya M. 2013. Pressing Problems: Distribution, Threats, and Conservation Status of the Monitor Lizards (Varanidae: Varanus spp.) of Southeast Asia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Herp. Cons. Biol. 8 (Monograph 3): 1 − 62. - get paper here Koch, A. 2012. Discovery, Diversity, and Distribution of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Sulawesi and its offshore islands. Edition Chimaira, 374 pp. [ISBN 978-3-89973-432-4] - get paper here KOCH, A. and G. ACCIAIOLI 2007. The Monitor Twins: A Bugis and Makassarese Tradition from SW Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biawak 1 (2): 77-82 - get paper here 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 Koch, Andre 2008. Sulawesis Herpetofauna: Unterschätzte Vielfalt in einer bewegten Umwelt. Terraria (13): 34-37 Koch, André & Evy Arida 2017. A coconut-eating monitor lizard? On an unusual case of frugivory in the melanistic Sulawesi water monitor (Varanus togianus). Herpetological Bulletin (139): 41-42 - get paper here Koch, André; Mark Auliya & Thomas Ziegler 2010. Updated checklist of the living monitor lizards of the world (Squamata: Varanidae). Bonn Zool. Bull. 57 (2): 127–136 - get paper here Mertens, R. 1942. Die Familie der Warane (Varanidae), 3. Teil: Taxonomie. Abh. Senckenb. naturf. Ges., 466: 235-391 Mertens, R. 1959. Liste der Warane Asiens und der indo-australischen Inselwelt mit systematischen Bemerkungen. Senckenbergiana biologica 40: 221-240 Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1872. Über einige von Hrn. Dr. A. B. Meyer bei Gorontalo und Auf den Togian-Inseln gesammelte Amphibien. Monatsber. königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin. 1872 (Juli): 581-585 - get paper here Weber, M. 1890. Reptilia from the Malay Archipelago. 1. Sauria, Crocodylidae, Chelonia. In: Zoologische Ergebnisse einer Reise in Niederländisch Ost-Indien 1: 158-177. M. Weber (Ed.). E. J. Brill, Leiden. - get paper here Welton, Luke J.; Perry L. Wood, Jamie R. Oaks, Cameron D. Siler, Rafe M. Brown 2014. Fossil-calibrated phylogeny and historical biogeography of Southeast Asian water monitors (Varanus salvator Complex). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution - get paper here Welton, Luke J.; SCOTT L. TRAVERS, CAMERON D. SILER, RAFE M. BROWN 2014. Integrative taxonomy and phylogeny-based species delimitation of Philippine water monitor lizards (Varanus salvator Complex) with descriptions of two new cryptic species. Zootaxa 3881 (3): 201–227 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information http://monitor-lizards.net/species/index.html Google images

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