Finsch's monitor was only known from
Blanche Bay, Ralum, and
Massawa in
New Britain.[1][6] Further research on the available museum specimens enlarged the
range of the species, which currently includes the
Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland), New Guinea and
Queensland, Australia.[7][8] The specimen from Queensland lacks any fixed data on its locality, so the exact
distribution of Finsch's monitor in
Northern Australia remains unknown.[4]
Pet trade
Reports of this species, V. finschi, imported for the pet trade from the Kei Islands are erroneous and refer to similar though distinct animals that have yet to be formally described.[citation needed]
The
dorsal pattern of V. finschi adults consists of "black
ocelli, which are often arranged in irregular transverse rows - with a
yellowish center on a dark grayish background."[4] The dark head of V. finschi is speckled with many yellowish spots. Its tongue color is pink.[11]
^Beolens, Bo;
Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.
ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Varanus finschi, p. 90).
^Böhme W [
de],
Horn H-G,
Ziegler T [
de] (1994). "Zur Taxonomie der Pazifikwarane ( Varanus-indicus-Komplex): Revalidierung von Varanus doreanus (A. B. Meyer, 1874) mit Beschreibung einer neuen Unterart ". Salamandra30 (2): 119–142. (Varanus doreanus finschi, new subspecies, p. 137). (in German). (Abstract and image captions in English).
^Ziegler T,
Philipp KM, Böhme W (1999). "Zum Artstatus und zur Genitalmorphologie von Varanus finschi BÖHME, HORN & ZIEGLER 1994, mit neuen Verbreitungsangaben für V. finschi und V. doreanus (MEYER 1874) (Reptilia: Sauria: Varanidae)". Zoologische Abhandlungen, Staatlisches Museum für Tierkunde in Dresden50 (2): 267–279. (in German).
^Ziegler T, Böhme W,
Eidenmüller B, Philipp K (2001). "A note on the coexistence of three species of Pacific monitor lizards in Australia (Sauria, Varanidae, Varanus indicus group)". Bonner zoologische Beiträge50 (1–2): 27–30.
^Hediger H (1934). "Beitrag zur Herpetologie und Zoogeographie Neu-Britanniens und einiger umliegender Gebiete". Zoologische Jahrbücher (Abteilung Systematik)65: 389–582. (in German).
^Sprackland RG (1999). "New species of monitor (Squamata: Varanidae) from Indonesia". Reptile Hobbyist4 (6): 20–27.
Further reading
Ast, Jennifer C. (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA Evidence and Evolution in Varanoidea (Squamata)". Cladistics17 (3): 211–226. [erratum in 18 (1): 125].
De Lisle HF (1996). The Natural History of Monitor Lizards. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing. 201 pp.
ISBN978-0894648977.
Koch A,
Arida E,
Schmitz A [
fr], Böhme W, Ziegler T (2009). "Refining the polytypic species concept of mangrove monitors (Squamata: Varanus indicus group): a new cryptic species from the Talaud Islands, Indonesia, reveals the underestimated diversity of Indo-Australian monitor lizards". Australian Journal of Zoology57 (1): 29–40.
Philipp KM, Ziegler T, Böhme W (2007). "Preliminary Investigations of the Natural Diet of Six Monitor Lizard Species of the Varanus (Euprepiosaurus) indicus Group". Mertensiella16: 336–345.
Ziegler T, Schmitz A, Koch A, Böhme W (2007). "A review of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus of Varanus (Squamata: Varanidae): morphological and molecular phylogeny, distribution and zoogeography, with an identification key for the members of the V. indicus and the V. prasinus species groups". Zootaxa1472: 1–28.
Ziegler, Thomas; Böhme, Wolfgang; Schmitz, Andreas (2007). "A new species of the Varanus indicus group (Squamata, Varanidae) from Halmahera Island, Moluccas: morphological and molecular evidence". Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin83 (S1): 109–119.