A new species of large monitor from the island of Sanana in the Moluccan Islands if Indonesia. It's yet another member of the genus Varanus, which includes the fruit-eating Varanus bitatawa described recently from the Phillipines, as well as the Komodo dragon (V. komodoensis). This one is V. obor, and is being referred to as the torch monitor (that's meaning of the species epithet in Indonesian, as well). The common name refers to the bright orange head set off from the dark body, giving the impression of a flaming torch. V. obor is a moderately sized monitor, reaching a length of 4 feet or so, and they feed on a variety of smaller animals and carrion.
The new species is described in Zootaxa by Valter Weijola and Samuel Sweet. Here, Sweet discusses the reasons why large monitors are common in this region of the world. In the region to the east of Wallace's Line the absence of large mammalian predators opens a niche that the monitors have been able to fill.
The discovery of another large, strikingly colored predatory lizard has additional significance. It serves as an indication just how much biodiversity remains unknown to us.
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