Varanus nesterovi

Nesterov’s desert monitor

DISTRIBUTION: According to current knowledge, V. nesterovi inhabits the western and southwestern edges of the Zagros Mountains on both sides of the Iraq-Iran border (Böhme et al. 2015; also see Auliya & Koch 2020)

RED LIST STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE)

CITES: Appendix II

NATIONAL PROTECTION:

Islamic Republic of Iran. -…

Iraq. – …

THREATS: Currently no international trade is documented for V. nesterovi, listed on CITES Appendix II.

Islamic Republic of Iran. -…

Iraq. – …

RESEARCH NEEDS:

Islamic Republic of Iran. Noori et al. (2021) urge to assess the conservation status of the Iranian reptile fauna and thus implement an appropriate management scheme.

Iraq. – …

CURRENT PROJECTS: As the species has only been described realtively recently, and occurs in extensive, arid and often inaccessible regions, there is a lack of basic data to assess its conservation and threat status; therefore there is an urgent need to conduct field studies to refine distribution patterns and examine habitats utilized by V. nesterovi.

In addition knowledge available through local communities would be valuable to collect locality records/observations and any information related to potential threats impacting the species.

References referred to:

Böhme W, Ehrlich K, Milto K, Orlov N, Scholz S (2015) A new species of desert monitor lizard (VARANIDAE: Varanus: Psammosaurus) from the western Zagros region (Iraq, Iran). Russian Journal of Herpetology 22: 41-52.
Noori S, Hawlitschek O, Oldeland J, Rajaei H, Husemann M, Simões M (2021) Biodiversity modelling reveals a significant gap between diversity hotspots and protected areas for Iranian reptiles. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 59: 1642–1655. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzs.12528