Text - Reptiles

							Reptiles in the Kamoro area: snakes, lizards, crocodiles and turtles

Reptiles (Class Reptilia) are a part of a larger desingation, herptiles, which also include frogs, newt
and salamanders (Class Amphibia). The word herptile comes from the Greek, meaning crawling
things. With all due aplogies to our frog friends, they have been left off this survey. While an
integral part of the eco-sytems, the Kamoro do not have any use for them.

Note: check on agamid name from FI calendar.....

The crocodiles, lizards, turtles and snakes form an integral but not crucial part of what the Kamoro
use from their eco-systems. We disregarded amphibians as the Kamoro seem not to have any uses
for frogs. In former times, at least four species of snakes were eaten. This is still true today but some
Kamoro are reluctant to admit to the practice from a sense of shame. While they do not go out of
their way to kill snakes, if they happen on one by chance, it’s good enough for the pot. Snakes are of
prime concern only insofar as every village has had one or more of its members killed by snakebite
during the past few years.

After the market for crocodile skins collapsed in the 1980’s, these animals (two species present in
our area) reverted back to their old status as occasional meat for the pot. They are sometimes caught
in fishermen’s nets, killed and eaten. Active hunting of the animals, at night and with torchlights,
happens, but seldom. During our many stays at Kamoro villages during the past five years, we only
saw three crocodiles killed, and two of those were dispatched with the greatest of ease just inside the
East Levee, during broad daylight, following the Wanagon ‘incident’ of May 2000. The other one
was caught in a fishing net off Pasir Hitam. We only ate crocodile a half dozen times; some were
tender and delicious, the others good enough tasting but terribly chewy. These were the tough old
fellers. During the course of many trips up and down rivers, we saw perhaps a dozen medium-sized
crocs, in the 80 cm. to 1.4 meter range, either on logs projecting into the river or splashing down
from the bank. One set of tracks we saw near the East Levee was a very hefty-sized brute, probably
some 2.5 meters long. In late May 2,000, an unsubstantiated rumor had a gaharu seeker killed by a
fresh water crocodile, inland from Iwaka village.

There was no surfeit of lizards in our village diet, but each time it was a treat. The prime use of
lizards, mostly monitors, is for their skin which is attached to hourglass drums (tifa) as the playing
surface. Varanus indicus, the Pacific mangrove monitor, seem relatively abundant in the mangroves
near the coast. We saw several of them, bundled up, in Kekwa village on three occasions. The
Kamoro of this village had no problems finding one of these when requested by the Discovery TV
team from Australia. Turtles are actively sought by the Kamoro for their meat and eggs. The shells
are not used for any purposes as far as we could determine, except, occasionally, for house
decoration. The best season for hunting turtles is when it is dry, around December.

In the following lists of reptiles, the Kamoro names are given according to the village where the
information was gathered. We use the following abbreviations: a= Atuka, i= Iwaka, n= Nawaripi
(from Paopao hamlet) and p= Pigapu.

TURTLES (Order Testudinata)




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1. Carettochlys insculpta: a large freshwater turtle, the Pig-nosed Turtle or the Fly River Turtle,
called i= BURU/BURURU; n= MURU, a=IYAKO (?) is said to be found from far inland all the way
to the sea. Indonesian: kora-kora.

2. Emydura subglossa: the Red-bellied Turtle, found only inland; n= AFAMUFU; a= BURU; i=
AHOMPU or BIMAYU; kora-kora in Indonesian. Long ago, this species was said to have helped
the ancestors at Iwaka and it was forbidden to eat it; this taboo no longer applies.

3. Pelochelys bibroni: Bibron’s Soft Shell Turtle, a smaller (?) freshwater species, n= TAPARO or
TAARO; a= TAPARO: photo of shell and skeleton taken at Atuka.

4. . Elysea novaeguinea, the Yellow-striped Turtle; n= JEWANA (long-necked?)
        At the time of this writing, we have not yet seen this species, dead or alive.

The common Indonesian names for the above species are kura-kura (or kora-kora), Irian leher
pendek (Irian short neck) and kora kora or Irian leher panjang (Irian long neck). Kora-kora is the
common designation for land (and usually the smaller) turtles; the marine turtles are called penyu.

5. Eretmochelys imbricata, the Hawksbill (or, perhpas, Chenonia mydas, the Green Turtle), i=
IHAKO; n= FIVAO. In Paopao, the informants said that this turtle had blue coloration ??? on the
‘lumut’ (dictionnary: moss ???). See my photo taken at Kekwa for id.

Informants stated that the best season for hunting turtles: when dry. December????

Checklist (Petrocz 1989) of Irian Jaya turtles:
Chelonidae (sea turtles): Chelonia mydas (green), Eretmochelys imbricata,
        (hawksbill) and Lepidochelys olivacea (Pacific ridley)
Dermochelydae: Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback)
Carettochelydae: *Carettochelys insculpta (Fly River/Pig-nose)
Trionychidae (soft shelled turtles): *Pelochelys bibroni (Bibron’s soft shell)
Chelidae: Chelodnia novaeguinea (NG Snake-necked turtle)
           C. pakeri (Packer’s snake-necked)
           C. siebenroki (Torres Strait snake-necked)
          *Elysea novaguinea (Yellow-striped)
          *Elysea subglobosa (Red-bellied)
[WWF for Lorentz has this species as Emydura subglobosa....NOT Elysea; my turtle book
agrees...Petocz must be wrong...]

* = in Lorentz Park, so to be assumed also in the Timika area. The Lorentz material adds an
endemic species, Chelodina reimanii, as an expected species but I have found no information at all,
anywhere, on this beast....
The Hatfindo biodiversity volume has the same four starred species as indicated above (but not the
C. reimanii).

CROCODILES (order Crocodilia)




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The freshwater species, EWE TIMAKO (often called just TIMAKO), is said to be quite abundant in
the Kamoro area. This is the New Guinea endemic, Crocodylus novaeguinensis. There is a
freshwater swamp on the side of west side of the Jayanti road, some five kilometers before arriving
at Pigapu (with the roadside coordinates of 4º 38.825’ S and 136º 44.065’ E) where freshwater crocs
are said to be abundant, along with fish. The larger crocs here are said to be reaching some two
meters in length. The people of Iwaka say that there is another kind, which they call
BUYATIMAKO, distinguished according to them by its whitish color. (‘buya’ means current [as
related to water] in the Iwaka dialect). I saw two of these, about a meter 20 or 30 cm. in length; one
was about a kilometer south of the village on a log in the Iwaka River; the other one was about two
kilometers upstream, also on a log. These might be color variants. A man from Java who lives in
Timika and sells exotic animals from Papua classified local crocodiles into three ‘species’ according
to coloration and spot markings.

Two large freshwater crocodiles killed by men from Kali Kopi Tengah 05 May 2000, the morning
after the Wanagon dam accident. The following day, we found some crocodile tracks at the southern
edge of borrow pit seven. The Kamoro said he was at least 2.5 meters long. They picked up a piece
of turtle shell, probably of the pig-nosed turtle, and said that the crocodile had recently eaten it.

The crocodile killed (see photos) after Wanagon ‘incident’: when the animal was cut up, a square
piece of skin from where the head joins the neck was set aside for the hunter. He will put this up in
his house as this is where the spirit of the crocodile resides: then it will be ‘muda dapat kembali’
meaning that it will be easy to kill another one, as this spot is the ‘pusat roh buaya’, the center of the
crocodile spirit.

The men of Iwaka say that the fat from turtles and crocodiles is used for cooking sago; it is also used
as medicine for internal sickness and malaria; the gall/bile (empedu) is used, mixed with alcohol for
general sickness and as an anti-malarial.
Except for a large specimen living near Atuka (and blamed for the death of a young woman two
years ago) the saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, EWE WATERA, or TIMAKO, had been
overhunted in the past. When specifically looking for them, I have seen three juveniles one night, in
the 20 to 50 cm. range. As there is no longer a market for their skins, the crocs are making a slow
comeback in our area. The meat of the occasional croc caught today (see photo from Pasir Hitam,
taken about three years ago which got entangled in a net and was killed by the fisherman with a
parang or machete) is eaten.

LIZARDS (Order Squamata, which also includes snakes; suborder: Sauria)
(essentially, monitor, lizards, the varanids)
Basic reference: The Natural History of Monitor Lizards
by Harold F. de Lisle. Krieger, Malabar (Florida) 1996.

Several species of monitor lizard are commonly eaten and their skins used for drums.

1. Varanus timorensis similis, a frequently found species, the New Guinea Spotted Tree Monitor,
Varanus timorensis similis. Called OKE; a=YAMAWEKE; the skin of this species is used as the
playing surface of the traditional tifa drums.




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2. Varanus indicus - TETERE OKE; n= WO’E or WUO’E; a= WEKE the Mangrove Monitor,
whose skin is also used for drums. This is said to be the most common one.

3. Varanus prasinus, The Green Tree Monitor or the Emerald Tree Monitor, TETERE; n= UREITA; a=
TOTORO. Arboreal, feeds mainly on insects, especially orthopterans (tree crickets); also centipedes and
rodents; lays eggs July-September. In Paopao, this monitor was referred to in Indonesian as ‘guntur-kilat’
(thunder and lightning); only this species is not eaten, due to an ancestral ‘hukum guntur’ or law or the thunder.
If someone eats one these varanids, a member of his or her immediate family will die. This was said to be a
‘ganti-rugi’, an exchange for something lost or spoiled.

4. Varanus salvartorii, the largest lizard around, the Papua Monitor, BIRMOPUKU or TOTORO; n= WUA’O;
a= WA’O. In Iwaka, it was said that this species is eaten but its skin is not used for drums. The information
that its skin is not used for drums seems doubtful.

5. Varanus beccari, the Black Tree Monitor, V. beccari, i= WAWEYARO, is said to be found most
frequently inland. This species is not used by the Kamoro for anything. We doubt this.

6. Varanus panoptes: alternate name for the three subspecies of Varnus gouldii: 1. V. gouldii gouldii, 2. V.
gouldii horni (This one from the semi-arid region of southern New Guinea in the literature) and 3. V. gouldii
rubidus, Yellow-spotted Monitor. The Paopao informants seemed sure of themselves when they recognized
this monitor lizard from a photo in the book but could not think of its name. ...

7. Varanus doreanus, a= BIRUMOIPOKO; n= MIRUMPO’O


Aside from the confirmed ones in the area, possible species, from range maps:
V. beccari: Aru Black Tree Monitor;
V. jobiensis: Peach-throated Monitor (formerly, V. karlschmidti)
V. doreanus doreanus: Blue-tailed Monitor; its meat is said to the best as it is the fattest.
V. finschi: Bismarck Mangrove Monitor

In Iwaka, the word BIRIMOPOKO seems to apply to several varanids: V. salvadori, B. Doreanus
doreanus, V. Timorensis similis, V. indicus; WAU (or WAUO...???) to V. prasinus, V.
salvadorii....at least as identified from photos.

Petrocz lists the following varanids: V. gouldii, V. indicus, V. karlschmidti (Sepik),
       V. prasinus, V. salvadorii, and V. timorensis (Spotted Tree Monitor)
WWF lists for Lorentz: V. indicus, V. panoptes, V. prasinus and V. salvadorii
Hatfindo biodiversity study lists: V. indicus, V. prasinus and V. salvadorii.

Non-varanids
Two non-varanids were identified from photos:
The agamid of the species Hypsilurus auritus, UTARO; n= WAKARO (?), is said to be eaten,
caught on full moon nights. Probably another species of agamid: n= WAKARO. We did not have
any books with illustrations of agamids found in New Guinea.




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(From the Hatfindo Biodiversity study: the genus Hypsilurus has at least seven species in Irian Jaya.
The systematics of this group are poorly understood and re-examination of the status of the various
taxa is badly needed.)

The large skink, Tiliquia scincoides gigas, EWAHOWE, the giant blue-tongue, is believed to be
extremely poisonous and no medicines can help someone bitten: death is certain to follow. However,
no one in any of the villages was able to name anyone who had died from a bite of this large and
admittedly mean-looking beast. (Hatfindo: it has a wide ecological tolerance from primary to highly
disturbed forests and tends to be crepuscular and rather secretive. ... Although large, it is a harmless
species that has ecological tolerance to easily coexist with human settlements. Unfortunately, it is
considered highly poisonous by local people and according to them killed on sight. ... There are only
two poisonous species of lizards in the world endemic to the deserts of north Mexico and the SW
United States.) [Note: it could be that the saliva contains toxins, as the Komodo dragon, Varanus
komodoensis. This varanid is responsible for several human deaths.]

Note for risk assessors:
Only one species of lizard is found in the subalpine zone. It was collected at Lake Wanagong
(Wannabegone?). This is the skink Lobulia, an undescribed, new species, according to the Hatfindo
study (Vol. 8). Let us hope the recent (May 2000) ‘incident’ did not harm the beast. Is the animal
present in other highland lake areas?


SNAKES (Order Squamata; suborder: Serpentes)
The animals were identified from the Freeport snake poster, Mark O’Shea’s book and from my
photos. The basic ids were done at Pigapu Village. Note: where there is no parenthesis after the
Kamoro name of a snake, this means that the Pigapu, Atuka and Iwaka names are the same. n =
Nawaripi dialect; a=Atuka.

There are two very poisonous snakes in our area, with the worse being the New Guinea Death Adder,
Acanthophis antacticus, WAKIMURUHU (i= WAKOMURU; n= WAIMURFU; a= WAKUMURU). This
species is said to bite people often and a woman in Kekwa was killed by one about one and a half years ago, on
the inland side of the mangroves.

The other poisonous snake is the Ikaheka or the New Guinea Small Eye Snake, Micropechis ikaheka,
OMAME. This species is considered the most dangerous as there is no remedy if bitten; said to jump at the
victim when attacking humans whom it seeks to bite; held responsible for two deaths in Iwaka: a young man in
1996, walking along the Djayanti Road and a young woman in 1997, when she was returning to the village
after bathing in the river.

Other snakes:
Amethystine Python, Morelia amethistina, PIMI. (i, a= BIROKO; n= PIMI),
Barred Keelback, Tropidonophis doriae, Pigapu and Atuka: AMAMEREME
       (not identified in Iwaka), n= AMAPOTIA
Brown Cat Snake, Boiga irregularis, WAKURU
       (i= OPOMIROKO; N: OAMEO’O, a= OPIE)
Viper Boa/New Guinea Ground Boa, Candoia aspera, BAKU(U)



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        (same name in Iwaka and Atuka); n = MAIWO
Arafura Wart or Filesnake, Acrochodus arafurae, NOMA (Iwaka: UTAKO), a= UTEKO
Little Wart, Acrochordus granulatus, TITITA (Iwaka: BAKU) n= APAO; a= UTAKO
Setekwa River Forest Snake, Toxicocalamus grandis, MBITA/WITA
        (this species was not known in Iwaka) n= TEFEPETIA; A: PAREE
New Guinea Ground Snake, Aspidomorphis mulleri, OPEKAMOKO
        (Iwaka and Atuka: PERAPOKO); n= TERFO
Green Tree Python, Morelia viridis, MATAHO (i= WEIPU) n= METAFO; A: EPUU
Three species from the chart were unknown to the Kamoro at Pigapu. These are:
1. While Bellied Mangrove Snake, Fordonia leucobalia
2. Pacific Ground Boa, Candoia carinata n = MAIWO or MOPERETIA
3. Smooth Watersnake, Enhydris polylepis. n= MIUMAME; a= BUKAMARE
The Southern D’Albertis Python, Leiopython albertisi, KEWERE, was identified from the O’Shea
book. In Paopao (n), this species is given two different names, according to its coloration: if light
colored: MIRO’; if dark colored: EWERE

In Iwaka and Paopao, two more species were identified:
1. While-bellied Mangrove Snake, Fordonia leucobalia, WIYATA;
       n= UFITA or OMAPOTEA; A’TI
2. Smooth Watersnake, Enhydris polylepsis, TEMAPONE; n= MAPONE

In Paopao hamlet (Nawaripi dialect) the following species were also identified:
Pacific ground boa, Candoia carinata: MAIWO
Keelback: Tropidonophis multiscutellatus: TEREFO
Montane keelback: T. statisticus: OMAME
Common keelback: T. marii marii: OWE
Green treesnake: Dendrelaphis callisgastra: TEPERE (kupas kulit, ikat kepala)
Treesnake: D. sp. MOPERETIA
Slatey-grey snake: Stegonotus cucullatus: MAPONE
Northern gound snake: S. modestus: UWARO

In Atuka, the following other identifications were made:
from the O’Shea book, not on the Freeport chart
PERAPAKO: Morelia albertsi
TIROWE: Dendralaphis puctatus
TEMAPONE: Stegonous cucullatus
TORO: Tropidonophis multiscutellatus
PERAPAKO: T. statisticus
from my photos:
BIROKO: Fordonia leucobalia
EEPU: Morelia viridis
BAKU: Candoi aspera
AMAMEREME: Boiga irregularis
KROWE: Morelia amethistina
photos of stuffed specimen, Mile 21, Freeport Tailing Reclamation area:
EWERE: Morelia amethistina (see above)



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WAKUMURU: Acanthropis antacticus
OPII: ?????

Many Kamoro say that formerly, many people ate snakes, the larger species, but now it is usually
only older men who do so.
Snakes eaten: (the Kamoro names are from the Nawaripi)
Morelia amethistina, Amethistine Python (one of these recently killed a head of cattle
       at the Pangansari feedlot and abattoir) PIMI
Leiophyton albertsi, Northern Albertis Python, light colored, MIRO’O
Leiophython albertsi, Northern Albertis Python, dark colored, EWERE
Acrochorus arafurae, Arafura Wart Snake (or) Arafura File Snake, UTAKO




Appendix I
PTFI BIODIVERSITY: AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES (Hatfindo)

1. A total of some 100 species, with at least 21 amphibians in the area are protected; at least two species new to
science. At least 21 species of reptiles recorded or likely to occur in Freeport project area, protected under
Indonesian law. Species of greatest concern:
two crocodiles: Crocodylus porosus and C. novaeguineae;
two freshwater turtles, Carettochelys insulpta and Chelodina novaeguineae,
one varanid, V. salvadorii
and one python, Morelia boelenii.

2. At least 80 species of amphibians and reptiles were found and this number will probably increase to 90
when all identifications are in. At least two species were found new to science and several species recorded
here for the first time: including the skink Tiliqua gigas and a python Morelia albertisi - this large and very
distinctive species occurs widely in New Guinea but known on the south coast only from the Bomberai
peninsula. One of most common snakes collected, the death adder Acanthophis antacticus, highly poisonous,
little fear in field collectors. But Tiliquia scincoides gigas (>30 cm) is considered highly poisonous by locals
and so killed on sight.... There are only two species of poisonous lizards in the world and they are endemic to
the deserts of northern Mexico and south-west USA. At least 6 species of boas and pythons in project area.
Morelia boeleni, highly prized in pet trade.

(Hatfindo: Seven species of freshwater turtles in Irja/Papua; one species, Carettochelys insculpta
(Family Carettochelidae), the Irian Tortoise, Kura-kura Irian, is a monotypic family restricted to the
south coast of NG and a small part of northern Australia. This most unusual species is also known as
the Fly River Turtle (from the area it was first identified) and the most aptly descriptive name, pig-
nosed turtle. Seven species of marine turtles around Irja/Papua... Family Chelidae: Elseya
novaeguinea (New Guinea Snapper, Kura-kura Irian leher pendek) and E. subglobsa; Family
Tronychidae: Pelochelys bibroni. Also Chelodina novaeguinea, Long-necked tortoise, Kura-kura
Irian leher panjang. Marine: Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback Turtle, Penyu belimbing),
Lepidochelys olivacea (Green Ridley, Penyu ridel), Caretta caretta (Loggerhead turtle, Penyu




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tempayan); Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawksbill Turtle, Penyu sisik) seen by the author in Kekwa,
and Natator depressa (Flatback Turtle, Penyu pipih.)

Expected from COW Project Area:
Lizards
Family Agamidae
These lizards externally resemble iguanas and are its Old World counterparts. They vary in length
from 6 cm. to one meter as adults.
       1. arboreal species characterized by large throat fans, or gular pouches and dorsal crests
       2. terrestrial species characterized by dorsoventral flattening of body
Six species expected:
Hypsilurus auritus; H. binotatus; H. dilophus; H. godeffroyi; H. modestus;
       H. nigrigularis
Family Gekkonidae, 4 species: Crytodactylus marmoratus; C. mimikanus;
       Gehyra interstitialis; Gekko vittatus. Also, perhaps: Cyrtodactylus lousiadensis,
       Gekko mutilata, Hemidactylus frenatus and Nactus pelagicus.

Family Scincidae,
33 species, including Tiliqua scincoides gigas, and Tribolonotus novaeguineae,
        both popular trade species.
Carlia fusca; Emoia aenea; E. bogerti; E. caeruleocauda; E. irianensis; E. jamur; E. klossi; E.
kordoana; E. longicauda; E. physicina; E. tropidolepsis; E. veracunda; Eugongylus rufescens;
Lemprolepsis smaraginda; Lipinia longiceps; Lobulia sp. nov. ‘alpina’; Lygisaurus novaeguneae;
Papuascincus stanleyanus; Prasinophaema semoni; Sphenomorphus jobiensis; S. longicaudatum; S.
melanopogon; S. mimikanus; S. muelleri; S. neuhausii; S. nigriventris; S. nototaenius; S. oligolepsis;
S. stickeli; S. undulatus; S. wollastoni.

Family Varanidae: V. indicus, V. pantopes, V. prasinus and V. salvadorii

Frogs
Family Hylidae: Litoria arfakiana; L. chloronata; L. eucnemis; L. genimaculata; L. infrafrenata; L.
nigropunctata; L. pygmaea; L. sanguinolenta; L. thesaurensis; L. wollastoni; Nyctimystes granti; N. nomata.
Family Microhlyidae: Copiula oxyrhina; Hylophorbus rufscens; Oreophyryne albopunctata; O. biroi; O.
crucifera; O. flafa; Callulops robustus; Sphenophryne brivicus; S. cornuta; S. schlaginhaugeni; S.
macroryncha; Xenobatrachus bidens; X. giganteus; X. macrops; X. ocellatus; X. sp. X. minima; X. similis (??).
Family Ranidae: Platymantis papuensis; Rana arfaki; R. daemeli; R. grisea; R. grunniens; R. novaeguinea; R.
papua.


Appendix II
Nomination of Lorentz National Park as World Heritage Site
Frank Momberg, Benja Mambai and Hans van Noord. Sept. 1998. WWF.

Amphibians and reptiles: basic amphibian data from 1914; estimate for park, 150 species of
amphibians and reptiles; 90 species recorded in 1997 survey. FI found a new undescribed species of
lizard, Lobelia sp. Almost nothing is known about the ecology of the rare and protected Bowline’s



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python, Morelia boeleni. The rare Fly River Turtle, Carettochelys insculpta reaches is western limits
of its recorded occurrence in Lorentz.
[Note: we found this turtle much further west.]

Amphibians and Reptiles of the Lorentz National Park Region: based on a paper by GA.. Bologna
1914, updated by A. Allison of the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, including the results of the 1997
survey in FI contract of work area.

Turtles
Family Carettochelidae: Carettochelys insculpta, the Fly River Turtle, popular trade species.
Family Chelidae: Side-Necked Turtles:
Elysyea novaeguineae and Emydura subglossa, both popular trade species; expected: Chelodina
reimanni, endemic to the general area.
Family Trionychidae, Soft-Shelled Turtles, Pelochelys bibroni.


Snakes
Family Acrochordidae (File snakes)
Acrochordus arafurae, popular trade species;
Family Colubridae, ‘true snakes’:
Boiga irregularis; Dendrelaphis calligastra; D. lineolatus; D. lorentzii; Fordonia leucobalia;
Stegonotus cucullatus; S. modestus; S. plumbeus; Tropidonophis doriae; T. mairii; T. picturatus
Family Boidae (small boas):
Candoia asper (popular trade species) and C. carinata;
Family Elapidae (cobra family), with four species:
Acanthophis antarcticus; Aspidomorphus muelleri; Micropechis ikaheka; Toxicocalamus grandis
Family Pythonidae, with four specie: Morelia albertisii; M. amethistina; M. viridis; M. boelenii.

Frogs
Including nine tree frogs: Litoria chloronata; L. eucnemis; L. genimaculata; L. infrafrenata; L.
pygmaea; L. thesaurensis; L. wollastoni; Nyctimystes granti
        and N. monata.
Family Microhlyidae : Cophixalus cricifer; Oreophryne kampeni; Sphenophryne cornuta; S. klossi;
S. macrorhyncha; Xenobatrachus sp.
six Microhylidae and six Ranidae, the ‘true’ frogs’: Platymantis papunesis; Rana arfaki; R. daemeli;
R. grisea; R. grunniens; R. novaeguineae.

Appendix III
From UNESCO/WWF/PROCEEDINGS:
D.R. King: The Varanid Lizards of Eastern Indonesia
The V. komodoensis (using gene sequencing) is most closely related to eastern Australian V. varius
and the New Guinea V. salvadorii and this clad is most closely related to the group of large
Australian species.
Two are endemics:
V. salvador (>one million skins per year harvested in Indonesia) and V. indicus with two subspecies
recently identified (1994, Bühme et al) but no research on their biology. Another species, found in



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Papua/Irian and Aru, has complications with its taxonomy and little known of its biology except that
it’s arboreal and feeds on invertebrates and rodents. Both above species close to water.
The diet of the V. salvador: very labile and will capture and eat large range of prey: crabs,
orthopterans, fish, mammals and reptiles. V. indicus feeds largely on small mammals, birds, reptiles
and the eggs and invertebrates. These two breed throughout the year but with peak in the early dry
season. Wide distribution.




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