Taxonomic Swap 131032
(Committed on 2023-10-02)
|
|
replaced with |
|
Comments
can you contact Reptile Database. iNat follows their taxonomy and they synonymized them during their most recent update https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Varanus&species=indicus&search_param=%28%28search%3D%27Varanus+cerambonensis%27%29%29
Thank you, I will.
I have contacted Reptile Database and they did not respond. However, they acknowledged the changes made by Weijola (2015) and cite the same articles I mentioned previously, in which the two species remain divided as V. indicus (from Ceram, Ambon, and Buru) and V. chlorostigma (from Papua New Guinea, Raja Ampat, Australia, New Britain, and surrounding islands).
https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Varanus&species=indicus&search_param=%28%28search%3D%27Varanus+cerambonensis%27%29%29
From the looks of it, I think that the Reptile Database misunderstood the changes made by Weijola (2015), acknowledging half of it (the synonimization of V. indicus and V. cerambonensis) but failing to acknowledge the most important half (the taxon split of V. indicus into V. indicus and V. chlorostigma). In my opinion, the best course of action in this situation would be to stick to the changes made by Weijola (2015) (and supported by the ICZN, Dr. Samuel S. Sweet, and Dr. Daniel Bennett) and split V. indicus as mentioned above.
@uetz - curious if you have feedback on @albertogn's interpretation of Weijola (2015) implying Varanus cerambonensis should not have been lumped with Varanus indicus
My understanding from the literature is that the two are the same species (which is what the Reptile Database says). This is confirmed by more recent papers than those cited above, e.g. Weijola & Kraus 2023, https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2023.2218574
PS: we may have changed this only recently, but it's reflected in the current release of the database.
@uetz you are misunderstanding Weijola's papers. To put it simply, Varanus cerambonensis' name was "changed" to V. indicus, and V. indicus' name was "changed" to V. chlorostigma for the populations of Raja Ampat, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and surrounding islands. No one doubts that they are separate species, but their names were cause of confusion; this is because, when V. cerambonensis was described, V. indicus' holotype was erroneously thought to come from Papua New Guinea, so V. cerambonensis was described from Ceram, Ambon, and Buru (accidentally overwriting V. indicus). Then, Weijola found out that V. indicus' holotype also came from these island (it was collected in Ambon), and both species' names were corrected.
Varanus indicus for the populations of Ceram, Ambon, Buru, Haruku, and Saparua; Varanus chlorostigma for the populations of Raja Ampat, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Britain, etc...
I suggest reading these papers for clarification:
Weijola, Valter. (2015). Tupinambis indicus Daudin, 1802 (currently Varanus indicus; Reptilia, Squamata): proposed conservation of usage of the specific name by replacement of the neotype.. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 72. 134-141. 10.21805/bzn.v72i2.a12.
"Opinion 2451 (Case 3676) – Tupinambis indicus Daudin, 1802 (currently Varanus indicus; Reptilia, Squamata): specific name conserved," The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 77(1), 57-58, (30 April 2020)
Valter Weijola & Fred Kraus. (2023). Two new species of monitor lizards (Squamata: Varanus) endemic to the Louisiade and Tanimbar Archipelagos with a key to the subgenus Euprepiosaurus, Journal of Natural History, 57:13-16, 947-975
As a side note, most captive populations represent V. chlorostigma, not V. indicus.
@uetz plaese read the articles again, what the Reptile Database says is clearly wrong.
I have resurrected Varanus chlorostigma now, so I think it should be correct now. Changes will go online in our next release, probably in January.
Thank you.
@uetz hello, when is the next update coming?
there was a March 2024 release 12 days ago but we haven't yet caught iNat up
I see, it's fixed now. Thank you both!
These are two different species and shouldn't be regarded as one.
Weijola, Valter & Sweet, Samuel. (2015). A single species of mangrove monitor (Varanus) occupies Ambon, Seram, Buru and Saparua, Moluccas, Indonesia.. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. 14-23.
Weijola, Valter. (2015). Tupinambis indicus Daudin, 1802 (currently Varanus indicus; Reptilia, Squamata): proposed conservation of usage of the specific name by replacement of the neotype.. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 72. 134-141. 10.21805/bzn.v72i2.a12.
Böhme, Wolfgang & Koch, Andre & Ziegler, Thomas. (2016). Comment on the proposed conservation of Tupinambus indicus Daudin, 1832 (currently Varanus indicus; Reptilia, Squamata) by replacement of the neotype. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 73. 55-58. 10.21805/bzn.v73i1.a12.
Daniel Bennett "Comment (Case 3676) — On the proposed conservation of Tupinambus indicus Daudin, 1802 by replacement of the neotype," The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 73(2-4), 116-118, (1 March 2017)
Sweet, Samuel & Weijola, Valter. (2017). Comment (Case 3676) Response to a comment on the proposed conservation of Tupinambus indicus Daudin, 1802 by replacement of the neotype. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 73. 119-120. 10.21805/bzn.v73i2.a8.
"Opinion 2451 (Case 3676) – Tupinambis indicus Daudin, 1802 (currently Varanus indicus; Reptilia, Squamata): specific name conserved," The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 77(1), 57-58, (30 April 2020)