Panay monitor
Drawing of Panay Warans
The Panay Monitor Lizard ( Varanus mabitang ), known by the local name as Mabitang, is a large lizard of the family of monitor lizards ( Varanidae ). The species is endemic to the island of Panay belonging to the Philippines and was first described scientifically in 2001; correspondingly sparse, the species is currently explored. This black lizard eats differently than most other members of the genus of fruit. The species is regarded as endangered, the IUCN Red List classifies the Panay monitor lizard as endangered ( threatened ) a. Stock estimates are not available.
Features
The female holotype was 52.7 cm head-body length and 74.1 centimeters tail length has an overall length of 126.8 inches, but lacked the tip of the tail and thus a few inches. He weighed 1850 grams. For measurements of 25 specimens the head -body length averaged 54.2 cm, tail length 82 cm, resulting in an average total length of 136 centimeters. The largest measured specimen was 175 inches long. The weight of the specimens ranged between one and eight kilograms on average 3.6 kg. According to locals the Panay monitor lizard can grow quite large, and lengths of more than two meters were mentioned ..
The extremely dark dragon has a black back side and a dark gray to black coloration on the throat, neck, tail and extremities. Parts of neck, back and extremities show tiny, yellow scales. The muzzle is slightly arched, the head rest is very elongated. The ventral scales of Panay Waranes are strongly keeled. Characteristic features of the species are also beads in the temporal region and long, strongly curved claws for climbing. The eyes are reddish brown, the tongue is pink. While the scales of the head are enlarged, the remaining scales of the Panay monitor lizard are very small, so the distance from the throat to fold approach of the hind legs includes 124 scales. The upper scales of the triangular in cross-section tail have clearly defined, double and longitudinal keels. Pups show the same dark color as older specimens.
Occurrence
So far, the Panay monitor lizard known only from the northwestern Panay Peninsula and the western mountains Panays. It lives mainly in primary or ( if rarely ) secondary rain forests in lowland and hill country at altitudes up to 1000 meters above sea level. Most often, the species seems to be above sea level at altitudes between 200-500 meters.
After interviews with locals could be a " big, black dragon " also exist on Mindoro, so maybe also the Panay monitor lizard. As places of Siburan forest on Westmindoro and a small forest on Ostmindoro come into question. In contrast to Panay, where it bears the name " Mabitang ", there is no local name there. However, this might not be a mistake, because living in this area with Varanus salvator nuchalis a subspecies of Bindenwaranes and possibly a black morph from him. The occurrence can be considered only completed if there is a copy is caught.
Way of life
The Panay Monitor Lizard is strictly arboreal ( tree -dwelling ), but occasionally he comes to the ground, usually to eat fallen fruit, or to sunbathe. He can climb very well and climbs well wing fruit plants with tall trunks and hard bark. Short distances are overcome by jumping from tree to tree. He uses tree holes as hiding and sleeps on branches. According to reports from hunters, he is active in sunny weather, changing seasonal and diurnal activity is not known. Studies have shown that single individuals do not simultaneously use the same trees, but these often change: A single monitor lizard used 70 different trees within two years.
The frugivore ( fruit -eating ) Panay monitor lizard probably absorbs the smell of ripe fruit with its Jacobson 's organ and also lives on these fruit trees. The dragon eats the fruits of at least 20 different trees, preferably by screws trees, palms of the Arecaceae family and fig trees of the Moraceae family. As the Grays goanna ( V. olivaceus ) also has the Panay monitor lizard a well trained appendicitis as an adaptation to the vegetarian diet, the teeth are dull. It is thus highly specialized. Occasionally it will also eat various arthropods.
Little is known about the propagation of Panay Waranes; indigenous hunters were among six to twelve eggs per female. The in May and thus in the rainy season, prisoners, female holotype contained ovarian follicles from five to seven millimeters size. Apparently, the tree hollows are used not only as a place of rest: in a tree hollow shell remains of hatched scrim of a large reptile were discovered. The probability that this clutch was from a Panay Monitor Lizard, is very high.
If a Panay monitor lizard is startled on the floor, he climbs up the nearest tree. If he follows up the tree, he does not try as the Bindenwaran to jump from the tree, but climbs as high as possible. If he is driven there in a corner, he threatens warantypisch with bloated throat, lashing tail movements and hissing, but he rarely uses at. When the animals were fixed with their hands, they did not try to defend himself and showed no warantypische threatening gesture. Gripped by people lizards were head, tail and limbs hanging down, which also the statements of a hunter were confirmed that they feign death to defend often.
So far, the ticks Amblyomma helvolum and Aponomma were found fimbriatum on Panay monitor lizard as ectoparasites. On average, a monitor lizard had respectively 18.4 ticks, but the infestation ranged from zero to 62 ticks. Most ticks were found on the lugs of the legs, in the throat region and around the cloaca. The feces from the Panay monitor lizard contained nematodes ( Nematoda ).
In the field, watching Panay monitor lizard had no scratches in the middle of the body, which are often a result of Comment fights for example Bindenwaranen. Probably there is no such struggles in Panay monitor lizards so.
System
Based on a study of the female holotype Hemiclitoris Varanus mabitang was placed in the subgenus Varanus olivaceus Philippinosaurus along with. The ossified parts of the hemipenes and the Hemiclitores that Hemibacula the two species are very similar. Such structures meet mostly no apparent purpose, and are therefore little affected by changes in the course of evolution. Therefore, researchers consider them to determine their relatedness. Probably Philippinosaurus split early from other lizards.
Panay monitor lizard and man
The Panay monitor lizard was discovered as part of a project to protect the hornbills in 2000 to Panay, the first description was in 2001. Immediately after the discovery of the Philippine Endemic Species Conservation Project ( PESCP ) posed the question, how rare is the monitor lizard. The fact that these large species had remained undetected on a densely populated, often visited by herpetologists island long suggested the assumption that the species is very rare. Meanwhile, the Frankfurt Zoological Society ( FZS ) and the PESCP invested a lot of energy into researching this kind, since protective measures can only be performed when data on the distribution, inventory, biology and habitat requirements are present. A project examines the distribution of Varanus mabitang on Panay and neighboring islands, a second project aims to explore the biology of this lizard in the well known area of distribution. The projects are supported by the BIOPAT, FZS and the German Society for Herpetology and (DGHT ).
The number of sightings, scratches and Kotfunde shows that Panay monitor lizard on Northwest and Westpanay are more common than first thought. Nevertheless, there is probably a threat, because the relatively small area is increasingly destroyed in the rainforest. The PESCP could now reach the expulsion of the rainforest of Nordwestpanay a nature reserve; the protective provisions are enforced by game wardens, but also by the police and the military. However, it is questionable whether the small area can get the Panay Monitor Lizard, is also due to the large distance to the occurrence in Westpanay only a limited population replacement. The protection of forests in Westpanay could the conservation of the species likely to be substantially more secure than the currently single reserve. In most areas of the dragon - stock has now fallen critical, and the Erstbeschreiberin means that the Panay monitor lizard could become extinct within a few years, comprehensive protection measures should not be initiated soon.