Varanus dalubhasa

Enteng’s monitor

 

DISTRIBUTIONPhilippines (for detailed distribution data, see Auliya & Koch 2020)

RED LIST STATUS: Least Concern (LC) in 2021

CITES: Appendix II

NATIONAL PROTECTION: Under the Republic Act No. 9147 of the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001

THREATS: Local use for bushmeat is known, as the persecution as a chicken predator; the extent to which these interferences threaten local populations is not known, nor are other threats known that may detrimentally impact the species locally/regionally.

RESEARCH NEEDS: Delineation of the geographical range of V. dalubhasa versus V. marmoratus remains an open question, and studies are needed to narrow down the ‘contact zone’ between these two genetic entities, to determine the extent of possible overlap between them, and to ascertain the extent of gene flow (if present) among them using modern genomic resources and associated methods for characterizing gene flow.

CURRENT PROJECTS: Currently not known.

Adult Varanus dalubhasa, Luzon Island © Rafe M. Brown & Jason B. Fernandez