{"id":518366,"date":"2010-04-06T19:00:15","date_gmt":"2010-04-06T23:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.discovermagazine.com\/notrocketscience\/?p=1254"},"modified":"2010-04-06T19:00:15","modified_gmt":"2010-04-06T23:00:15","slug":"giant-fruit-eating-monitor-lizard-discovered-in-the-philippines-not-exactly-rocket-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/518366","title":{"rendered":"Giant, fruit-eating monitor lizard discovered in the Philippines | Not Exactly Rocket Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Varanus_bitawawa\"Humans have travelled all over the planet but many uncharted regions of the globe still hide unknown animal species waiting to be discovered. With some<\/a> exceptions<\/a>, these new finds are largely small creatures that are hard to spot amid the bustle of a tropical forest. So imagine Luke Welton\u2019s<\/a> surprise when he came across an entirely new species of giant monitor lizard in the forests of northern Philippines.<\/p>\n

At two metres in length, it\u2019s not quite as large as its close relative the Komodo dragon<\/a>, but it\u2019s hardly inconspicuous either. It\u2019s also brightly and beautifully coloured with intricate golden spots running down its otherwise black back. As is often the case, the lizard may be new to science but the local tribespeople \u2013 the Agta and Ilongot \u2013 have known about it for centuries. It\u2019s actually one of their main sources of protein. Their name for the monitor, bitatawa<\/em>, is now part of its official species name – Varanus bitatawa<\/em><\/p>\n

Rafe Brown<\/a>, who leads Welton\u2019s group, says, \u201cClues to its existence had filtered in over the last ten years.\u201d Photos of the mysterious animal had been circulating since 2001, but the clincher came when Welton and another student, Cameron Siler, salvaged a specimen that had been brought to them by a hunter. \u201cThey knew it was something special, either a rare colour pattern or a new species,\u201d says Brown.<\/p>\n

The dead lizard went on a round-the world trip from the Philippines to Kansas. There, Brown\u2019s team counted its scales, examined its internal organs and sequenced its DNA. Their meticulous examination revealed that the animal was closely related to the Gray\u2019s monitor<\/a> (Varanus olivaceus<\/em>), which also lives on the same island. But it was distinct enough to count as a species in its own right. \u201cThe team in the field were very celebratory,\u201d says Brown.<\/p>\n

<\/span>\"Varanus_bitawawa2\"V.bitatawa <\/em>has an unusual habit that separates it from all but two other monitor species \u2013 it mostly eats fruit. Even before the animal had been discovered, the field team had suspected that a fruit-eating monitor lizard was prowling the forests, based on scratch marks all over the local fruiting Pandanus trees<\/a>. The final bit of evidence came when Welton opened up the stomach of the specimen he recovered. Inside, he found Pandanus fruits, figs and pili nut fruit, with no trace of a single insect, rodent or bird. Snail shells were the only sign that the lizard occasionally eats other animals.<\/p>\n

\"Luzon_Island\"So far, the team have recovered three specimens of the new lizard and it seems that V.bitawawa <\/em>only lives in a small band of mountainous forests in the Philippine island of Luzon. It shares the island with the Gray\u2019s monitor, but the two animals are separated by over 150km that includes three river valleys. They\u2019re unlikely to mingle.<\/p>\n

How could such a large and conspicuous animal have gone unnoticed by the many biologists who have studied the northern Philippines? Welton admits that it\u2019s an \u201castonishing set of circumstances\u201d. He suggests that few scientists have tried to survey the reptile life of the area. And if the new species is anything like the Gray\u2019s monitor, it is a secretive animal that almost never leaves the forests to cross open areas.<\/p>\n

The discovery of such an eye-catching new animal cements the Philippines\u2019 reputation as one of the planet\u2019s most important hotspots of biodiversity<\/a>. In the past decade, scientists searching the islands have found new species of lobsters<\/a>, meat-eating pitcher plants<\/a>, rails<\/a>, flying foxes<\/a>, parrots<\/a>, mice<\/a>, shrews<\/a>, snakes<\/a>, frogs<\/a> and orchids<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You get the feeling that we\u2019ve only just started scratching the surface of the islands\u2019 wildlife secrets. Indeed, if the northern and southern parts of Luzon could harbour two distinct species of monitors, separated by physical barriers, there will probably be other pairs of sister species waiting to be found.<\/p>\n

Sadly, as with many new discoveries, the animal\u2019s future is being called into question just as it is unveiled to the world at large. Luzon Island has a thriving human population who have cut down much of its forests. The Gray\u2019s monitor is classified as vulnerable due to the loss of its habitat, and V.bitawawa <\/em>may be similarly endangered. Welton hopes that the new animal will be beautiful and charismatic enough to act as a \u201cflagship species\u201d for the local area, promoting the need to conserve this most bountiful of habitats.<\/p>\n

Reference: <\/strong>Biology Letters http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1098\/rsbl.2010.0119<\/a><\/p>\n

Images<\/strong>: by Joseph Brown and Luke Welton<\/p>\n

More on lizards: <\/strong><\/p>\n