Varanus niloticus ( Linnaeus, 1766 )

Sánchez-Vialas, Alberto, Calvo-Revuelta, Marta & Riva, Ignacio De La, 2022, Synopsis of the terrestrial Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea, Zootaxa 5202 (1), pp. 1-197 : 65

Varanus niloticus ( Linnaeus, 1766)

Lacerta monitor Linnaeus 1758: 201 (nomen rejectum).

Lacerta nilotica Linnaeus, 1766: 369 . Type locality: “in AEgypto” ( Egypt). The holotype was a specimen mentioned by Hasselquist (1757), which is presumed lost ( Marques et al. 2018).

Stellio saurus Laurenti, 1768: 56 . Type locality: “Zeylania ad littora maris”.

Lacerta capensis Sparrman, 1783: 749 . Type locality: “European settlement, called Agter Bruntjes-hoogte”, Hinterbruyntjes Cave , surroundings of Cape Town, South Africa.

Lacertus tupinambis Lacépède, 1788: 251 (in part). Type locality: Cape of Good Hope and Senegal .

Tupinambis elegans Daudin, 1802: 59 (in part). Type locality: “ Suriname ”.

Tupinambis stellatus Daudin, 1802: 59 (in part). Type locality: from Senegal to Cape of Good Hope , restricted by Mertens (1942) to Senegal .

Tupinambis ornatus Daudin, 1803: 353 . Type locality: Malimbe , Cameroon.

Monitor pulcher Leach in Bowdich, 1819: 493. Type locality: Fantee , Gold Coast, Ghana.

Varanus niloticus ( Linnaeus, 1766) : Fitzinger, 1826: 50.

Monitor elegans senegalensis Schlegel, 1844 . Type locality: Senegal.

Distribution. Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, extending northward to Egypt. In Equatorial Guinea it has been recorded in Bioko ( Boulenger 1885; Bocage 1895a) at San Carlos ( Mertens 1941, 1942, 1964), Batete ( Mertens 1941, 1942), Bococó ( Mertens 1941), and at the road between San Carlos and Malabo ( Mertens 1964a), and in Río Muni at Cabo San Juan ( Boulenger 1905) and Monte Alén National Park ( Lasso et al. 2002), including Monte Mitra ( Gonwouo & Nsang 2005) ( Map 18A ).

Comments. Central African populations from the Gulf of Guinea were considered by some authors as a different species, namely Varanus ornatus (Daudin, 1803) , which differs from the other African populations by some phenotypic traits ( Böhme & Ziegler 1997). However, based on molecular data, Dowel & Hekkala (2016) found no genetic differences between V. niloticus and V. ornatus , recognizing the later as a synonym of V. niloticus . Thus, we follow Dowel & Hekkala (2016) and consider the populations from the Gulf of Guinea a phenotypic morph of V. niloticus . This species is harvested as bush-meat for local consumption in Río Muni ( Fa & García Yuste 2001; Fa et al. 2002; Gonwouo & Nsang 2005), where it is often found close to water bodies across a wide diversity of habitats; common around the Uoro and Laña rivers ( Lasso et al. 2002).

Specimens examined. Twenty-three specimens. Equatorial Guinea ( MNCN 20834 ) . Bioko : without precise locality ( MNCN 8093 , MNCN 8097 , MNCN 23887–23888 ) ; without precise locality October 1897 ( MNCN 45307 ) ; Finca Carboneras , 3 November 1983 ( EBD, without number) ; Bioko Sur, 13 November 1983 ( EBD 21390) ; Malabo , 24 January 1933 ( MNCN 8098–8099 ) . Río Muni: from Río Campo to Río Benito , Río Muni ( MNCN 8095- 8096 ) ; San Joaquín de Ndyiacom , 1987 ( EBD 27482) ; Miboman (30 km from Niefang), 1 February 1987 ( EBD 25124) , 01 August 1986 ( EBD 25127) ; Besisebe, Río Ntem , 31 August 1986 ( EBD 25126) ; Patio de Alosa, Niefang , 20 September 1986 (EBD 20913, EBD 20916) , 20 August 1985 ( EBD 21757) ; Miboman, Km 27, carretera Movo-Bata , 24 July 1985 ( EBD 20914) ; Miboman, carretera Niefang , 08 July 1986 ( EBD 20915) ; Miboman , December 1987 ( EBD 27674) ; Bata , 17 May 1965 ( EBD 2752 ) .

Figures

MAPS 18 A–C. Distribution maps for Equatorial Guinean records of (A) Varanus niloticus; (B) Calabaria reinhardtii; (C) Dasypeltis fasciata.