Mark Bayless, if you can, where did this little gem come from?

[SHvar]

Pretty lizard, needs some better care than his former owner could so he wont look this way for long.http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Aug/2004825616281133870463.jpg

[Gregg M]

It looks to be from the lower elevations of Tanzania...... If I had to guess further I would say somewhere close to Dar Es Salam.....

[thunder]

is he missing a foot?!

[SHvar]

From that picture he has gained alot of weight eating everyday to every other day 1 adult mouse and a day old quail. His first meal was a jumbo mouse, yet so many are afraid to feed even pinkies to a hatchling sized monitor, hes only 16.5 inches total in that pic.

[mbayless]

Hi Shvar,

To Gregg M. comment: I don't think coastal/lowland Tanzania because it is too light in color: coastal Tanzanian forms are usually darker. The fish-net banding on its sides are to distinct - the banding on the tail is sold/paired mix, which leads to me believe northern Malawi, possibly extreme S.W. Tanzania/S. Lake Tanganyika... in my opinion. Nice animal, looks female to me....can you send me skin shed from it? I need ~2 inch square piece for a zoological study I am compiling data for....

Many Thanks, Enjoy,
markb

[Jeff_Favelle]

Good job Mark!

[mbayless]

Hi Jeff,
when you have looked at so many albigularis, it is not too hard to figure out....but then I have looked at alot of V. niloticus and V. ornatus and cannot figure them out at all?? A friend of mine, John A. of cybersalvator has figured out V. salvator - and I know how he did it, but it does not seem to apply to V.niloticus/V. ornatus types? There is a population of V. ornatus in South Africa too - and that is figured out by the tortoise people; an anitquaited rainforest from central equatorial rainforest went right down the coast of E. Africa into Natal, RSA and Mozambique but has been separated by human intervention/logging and alike - but they are there, and pics/film to prove it from as far back as 1971!
Thanks, and cheers,
markb

[Jeff_Favelle]

Haha I wouldn't even know where to start man! They all look like Blue-Tongued skinks to me, LOL!! :D

[Gregg M]

Hey Mark,
I figured low land costal because of the lighter coloration..... Usually the higher the elevation the darker the animal, due to them having to heat up faster in higher elevations..... But now that I look closer, the speckeling on the neck and face is making me think it is not from Tanzania at all..... Guess I should stick to my African vipers....LOL

[markb]

Hi Gregg,
NO, not at all Gregg - usually that is right about lower elevations having lighter color animals, with higher elevations having darker color animals - and this is true of V. albigularis like most varanids as a rule of thumb too....but the Shire Valley which is in S.Malawi, and empties into S. Lake Tanganyika has a lower elevation than the 'average' elevations of Africa (= 3000 feet), and this drop in the elevation may account for their lighter color there - I never thought about it until now, but I have seen lots of animals from there. Now in the Kalahari Desert, they are altogether different, although the elevation of this desert is plateau and rather high, the animals are lighter, to ward off the heat of the desert in a place that really does not look like a desert (see "Animals are Beautiful Poeople", 1992 film, or 1991 film w. Charleton Heston, "tusks" where V. albigularis are seen there = terrific). SO yes you're right Gregg, but Africa is a complicated place, and as you know, and I think, seen - my map of African varanids and the break down of their ranges.

cheers Bud, have fun sunday with the gang...
markb