Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Conradie, Werner, Bills, Roger & Branch, William R., 2016, The herpetofauna of the Cubango, Cuito, and lower Cuando river catchments of south-eastern Angola, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 126) 10 (2), pp. 6-36 : 26

Varanus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Water Monitor

Material: observations only (3, 32, 43).

Comment: Common and widespread along major rivers in Angola. Although only a single Angolan specimen was included in a phylogeographic review of the V. niloticus complex ( Dowell et al. 2016), it is likely that all Angolan water monitors are preferable to V. niloticus (of which V. ornatus is now a junior synonym) and not West African V. stellatus (Daudin, 1802) , which was recently revalidated ( Dowell et al. 2016).