Description
English: One of the first photographs in life of the newly discovered (Welton et al. 2010) Varanus bitatawa (KU 322188) from Barangay Dibuluan, San Mariano. Photo: ACD.
Date 7 February 2013, 23:25:46
Source Brown R, Siler C, Oliveros C, Welton L, Rock A, Swab J, Van Weerd M, van Beijnen J, Rodriguez D, Jose E, Diesmos A (2013). "The amphibians and reptiles of Luzon Island, Philippines, VIII: The herpetofauna of Cagayan and Isabela Provinces, northern Sierra Madre Mountain Range". ZooKeys 266: 1. DOI:10.3897/zookeys.266.3982.
Author Brown R, Siler C, Oliveros C, Welton L, Rock A, Swab J, Van Weerd M, van Beijnen J, Rodriguez D, Jose E, Diesmos A
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Varanus_bitatawa_(KU_322188)_from_Barangay_Dibuluan,_San_Mariano_-_ZooKeys-266-001-g069.jpg

The Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor (Varanus bitatawa), also known by the local names bitatawa, baritatawa, and butikaw, is a large, arboreal, frugivorous lizard of the genus Varanus. The lizard is a staple food of the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous people of the Philippines. V. bitatawa is closely related to the Komodo dragon of Indonesia. It was confirmed as a new species in April 2010 by biologists from the University of Kansas. DNA analysis has revealed a deep genetic divergence between this species and its closest relative, Gray's Monitor (Varanus olivaceus), which is also a fruit-eater, but lives on the southern end of Luzon, rather than the northern end where the forest monitor lizard lives. Order: Squamata, Suborder: Scleroglossa, Infraorder: Anguimorpha, Superfamily: Varanoidea, Family: Varanidae.