The Lirung monitor (Varanus lirungensis) is a species of monitor lizards on the Talaud Islands in Indonesia.[1] It was recently discovered by André Koch, a German scientist from the Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn, during a joint German-Indonesian research project. Koch stated the discovery was important, "because it illustrates the high diversity of monitor lizards in Indonesia."[2]
Description
The known Lirung monitor specimen has a total length of about 80 cm. Its belly is yellow-grey with some darker cross bands.[3]
References
- ^ Monitor-lizards.net Archived 2010-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Researchers discover new monitor species - find reveals the underestimated diversity of top-predators in Indonesia, idw-online.de, July 20, 2009
- ^ Monitor-lizards.net Archived 2010-05-19 at the Wayback Machine