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Varanus cumingi MARTIN, 1839

IUCN Red List - Varanus cumingi - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaVaranidae, Platynota, Varanoidea, Anguimorpha, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Cuming’s water monitor 
SynonymVaranus cumingi MARTIN 1839
Varanus cumingii — BOULENGER 1885: 316
Varanus salvator cumingi — MERTENS 1942
Varanus salvator cumingi — BÖHME 2002
Varanus salvator cumingi — GAULKE & HORN in PIANKA & KING 2004: 261
Varanus cumingi — KOCH et al. 2007
Varanus (Soterosaurus) cumingi — KOCH et al. 2010
Varanus (Soterosaurus) cumingi — BUCKLITSCH et al. 2016: 50 
DistributionPhilippines (Mindanao, Camiguin Sur etc.)

Type locality: Mindanao, Philippines.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: BMNH 1946.8.31.5 (dried skin), adult. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: As a conspicuous member of the V. salvator complex, V. cumingi can be identified by two main features: (1) the intensive yellow colour pattern of head and body in combination with the black background colour and (2) the possession of enlarged occipital scales around the pineal organ (character P: 47-57, x = 49.92, s = 2.99). Further diagnostic scalation characters are (3) enlarged dorsal scales (parameters X, Y, and XY; see Tab. 7) and (4) low scale counts around the tail at one third of the tail length (character R: 44-55, x = 49.25, s = 3.44). Additional characteristics of the colour pattern of V. cumingi are (5) black ocelli on the ventral side of the tail, (6) a black streak extending from the eye to the upper margin of the tympanum, (7) usually a unicoloured yellow chin without dark bars or crossbands, and (8) 8 to 15 dark crossbands on the belly.


Additional details (1688 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentAccording to the timetree in Fig. S3 of Brennan et al. (2020), several taxa within the V. salvator group are distinctly younger than 1 million years, such as cumingi, marmoratus, palawanensis, and samarensis, hence they may be better considered as subspecies of V. salvator (Ziegler & Vences 2020). 
EtymologyV. cumingi has been named after the collector of the type, “Mr. H. Cuming”. The subspecific epithet samarensis refers to the type locality Samar Islands, Philippines. 
References
  • Augstenová, Barbora, Eleonora Pensabene, Lukáš Kratochvíl, and Michail Rovatsos. 2021. Cytogenetic Evidence for Sex Chromosomes and Karyotype Evolution in Anguimorphan Lizards. Cells 10, no. 7: 1612 - get paper here
  • Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
  • Böhme, W. 2002. Langjährige Haltung und Altersrekord eines Bindenwarans, Varanus salvator (LAURENTI 1768) im Terrarium: zweithöchstes belegtes individuelles Lebensalter eines Vertreters der Varanidae. Herpetofauna 24 (141): 26-28 - get paper here
  • 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
  • BUCKLITSCH, YANNICK; WOLFGANG BÖHME, ANDRÉ KOCH 2016. Scale Morphology and Micro-Structure of Monitor Lizards (Squamata: Varanidae: Varanus spp.) and their Allies: Implications for Systematics, Ecology, and Conservation. . Zootaxa 4153 (1): 001–192 - 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. 2010. Underestimated Diversity of Philippine Water Monitor Lizards (Varanus salvator Complex) Unraveled: a Contribution to the International Year of Biodiversity, 2010. Biawak 4 (2): 69-74 - 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, A.; Gaulke, M. & Böhme, W. 2010. Unravelling the underestimated diversity of Philippine water monitor lizards (Squamata: Varanus salvator complex), with the description of two new species and a new subspecies. Zootaxa 2446: 1–54 - 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
  • Martin, W. 1839. [Remarks on two species of saurian reptiles]. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1838: 68-70 - get paper here
  • Mertens, R. 1942. Die Familie der Warane (Varanidae), 3. Teil: Taxonomie. Abh. Senckenb. naturf. Ges., 466: 235-391
  • Sanguila MB, Cobb KA, Siler CD, Diesmos AC, Alcala AC, Brown RM 2016. The amphibians and reptiles of Mindanao Island, southern Philippines, II: the herpetofauna of northeast Mindanao and adjacent islands. ZooKeys 624: 1–132, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.624.9814 - get paper here
  • Taylor, E.H. 1922. The lizards of the Philippine Islands. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bureau of Science, Government of the Philippine Islands, Manila, Publication no. 17: 269 pp. - get paper here
  • Venturina, R. E. L., Diesmos, M. L. L., Maglangit, E. P. T., del Prado, Y. L. C., Ordas, J. A. D., Fernandez, J. B., ... & Diesmos, A. C. 2023. Herpetofauna of Mount Capistrano, a Fragmented Limestone Karst Forest in Central Mindanao, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 152(6A), 2031-2048
  • VENTURINA, Russell Evan L.;Ynigo Luis C. DEL PRADO,Rhim Ayyah C. KAMIR, Marlon N. BALMORES and Arvin C. DIESMOS 2020. A Revised Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles in Camiguin Sur, Misamis Oriental, Mindaanao, Philippines. Asian Herpetological Research 11 (1): 28-43 - 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
  • Ziegler, T.. & Vences, M. 2020. Molecular identification of water monitors (Varanus salvator complex) from confiscations and the pet trade, including phylogenetic placement of V. s. ziegleri – a molecular reference for species conservation enforcement and conservation breeding Zool. Garten N.F. 88: 31-50
 
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