The ornate monitor (Varanus niloticus ornatus) is a monitor lizard that is native to West and Middle Africa.[1][2] 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 (west African Nile monitor) and Varanus niloticus (Nile monitor).[1] Consequently, Varanus ornatus is considered a synonym of Varanus niloticus and "ornate monitor" is an informal term for forest forms of either species (V. niloticus or V. stellatus).
Until 1997, the ornate monitor was considered a subspecies of the Nile monitor.[3] It was subsequently described as a separate species on the basis of reduced number of ocelli rows on the body, a light coloured tongue and a more massive build.[4] 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.[1] Animals described as ornate monitor lizards are native to closed canopy forests in West and Middle Africa.[1]
^ abcdDowell, 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
^Varanus ornatus Archived 2010-05-19 at the Wayback Machine
^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.
The ornatemonitor (Varanus niloticus ornatus) is a monitor lizard that is native to West and Middle Africa. Comprehensive molecular analyses of the group...
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