Ornate monitor
The ornate monitor was previously considered a subspecies of ''Varanus niloticus'' and later a separate species, Varanus ornatus on the basis of differences in pattern and morphology. Comprehensive molecular analyses of the group have demonstrated that animals previously assigned to "Varanus ornatus" do not constitute a valid taxon and are actually polymorphisms of two different species; Varanus stellatus and Varanus niloticus.[1] Consequently Varanus ornatus is now considered a synonym of Varanus niloticus and "ornate monitor" is a casual term that refers to forest forms of either species (V. niloticus or V. stellatus).
Animals described as ornate monitor lizards are native to closed canopy forests in West and Middle Africa.[2] Until 1997, the ornate monitor was considered a subspecies of the Nile monitor.[3] Between 1997 and 2015 ornate monitors were thought to comprise a separate taxa [4] based on a reduced number of ocelli rows on the body, a light coloued tongue and a more massive build. More recent work based on a large sample size using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences indicates that Varanus ornatus is not a valid species and that animals with the diagnostic appearance belong either of two sister species of Nile monitor.[5]
Description
References
- ^ Dowell, S.A, D.M. Portik, V. de Buffrenil, I Ineich, E Greenbaum, S.O. Kolokotronis and E.R. Hekkala. 2015. Molecular data from contemporary and historical collections reveal a complex story of cryptic diversification in the Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus Species Group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.004
- ^ [Dowell, S.A, D.M. Portik, V. de Buffrenil, I Ineich, E Greenbaum, S.O. Kolokotronis and E.R. Hekkala. 2015. Molecular data from contemporary and historical collections reveal a complex story of cryptic diversification in the Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus Species Group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.004]
- ^ [MERTENS, Abh. senckenb. naturf. Ges., Frankfurt am Main, 465: 177; 466: 327.]
- ^ Böhme, W., & Ziegler, T. (1997). A taxonomic review of the Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766) species complex. The Herpetological Journal 7: 155-162.
- ^ [Dowell, S.A, D.M. Portik, V. de Buffrenil, I Ineich, E Greenbaum, S.O. Kolokotronis and E.R. Hekkala. 2015. Molecular data from contemporary and historical collections reveal a complex story of cryptic diversification in the Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus Species Group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.004]
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