Soterosaurus is a subgenus of monitor lizards commonly known as Southeast Asian water monitors. Most species are endemic to the Philippines, but black rough-necked monitors, Asian water monitors, and Togian water monitors can be found elsewhere in Southeast Asia.[1]
| Soterosaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Varanidae |
| Genus: | Varanus |
| Subgenus: | Soterosaurus Ziegler & Bohme, 1997 |
| Species | |
Classification
editThe black rough-necked monitor (V. rudicollis) was previously in the closely related subgenus Empagusia, but genomic analyses show it is actually the basalmost member of Soterosaurus, having split from the V. salvator species complex (which is composed of all the other Southeast Asian water monitor species) 14 million years ago during the middle Miocene. [2][3]
Behaviour
editThese large semi-aquatic lizards have laterally flattened tails, making them excellent swimmers. While all are terrestrial, some species, especially the black rough-necked monitor, may also have varying degrees of arboreal habits.[1]
Species
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References
edit- ^ a b Auliya, Marc; Koch, André (2020). Visual Identification Guide for the Monitor Lizard Species of the World (Genus Varanus) (552 ed.). DE: Bundesamt für Naturschutz. doi:10.19217/skr552. ISBN 978-3-89624-290-7.
- ^ Welton, Luke J.; Wood, Perry L.; Oaks, Jamie R.; Siler, Cameron D.; Brown, Rafe M. (May 2014). "Fossil-calibrated phylogeny and historical biogeography of Southeast Asian water monitors (Varanus salvator Complex)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 74: 29–37. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.01.016.
- ^ Brennan, Ian G.; Lemmon, Alan R.; Lemmon, Emily Moriarty; Portik, Daniel M.; Weijola, Valter; Welton, Luke; Donnellan, Stephen C.; Keogh, J.Scott (2020-02-03), Phylogenomics of monitor lizards and the role of competition in dictating body size disparity, doi:10.1101/2020.02.02.931188, retrieved 2024-06-05