Flag for Taxon: Monitor Lizards (Genus Varanus)
| Flagger | Content Author | Content | Reason | Flag Created | Resolved by | Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| matthew_connors | Monitor Lizards (Genus Varanus) |
add species complex for V. scalaris/V. similis |
May. 6, 2022 13:34:56 +0000 | loarie |
added |
Comments
@loarie if you get a chance
should it be named Complex V. scalaris or Complex V. similis (our convention is to use the older name)
@loarie V. scalaris is the older name so I'd go with that
Thanks!
@loarie you've named it as V. similis complex, which is the younger name - was this intentional?
whoops sorry fixed
Hahaha all good, thanks again!
There is a great deal of taxonomic confusion and disagreement between these two species, their validity, and their distributions, and currently the vast majority of sightings of the species group are stuck at genus level due to disagreement. An attempt at a consensus was made here but was for the most part unsuccessful, and ~90% of sightings remain stuck at genus level and are unfindable. It would be very beneficial to add a species complex taxon for the two species, at least until the taxonomic situation is resolved more satisfactorily. It would reflect the difficulty of the group and the disagreements, and would remove observations from the unidentified Varanus sightings, as well as just making them all easy to find.
I know taxon changes etc. are on hold for now but I'll flag this now because it's on my mind!