Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective

Yellow-headed water monitor

Species of lizard From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yellow-headed water monitor
Remove ads

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.

Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...
Thumb
Juvenile
Remove ads

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.[3][4]

Etymology

The specific name, cumingi, is in honor of English conchologist and botanist Hugh Cuming.[5]

Geographic range

V. cumingi is found in the southern Philippines, where it is distributed on Mindanao and a few small nearby islands.[2]

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 (4 ft 11 in) with a snout-vent length of 60 cm (24 in) and 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) in a mass.[6][7]

Thumb
Showing yellow head
Thumb
Darker individual in Frankfurt Zoo
Remove ads

Habitat

Thumb
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.[1]

Diet

The diet of V. cumingi is composed of rodents, birds, fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates, including eggs and carrion.[8]

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.[9]

References

Further reading

Loading related searches...

Wikiwand - on

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Remove ads