Peach-throated monitor

V. jobiensis belongs to the subgenus Euprepiosaurus, which includes species such as the blue-tailed monitor and mangrove monitor, both of which it is sympatric with in much of its range.

It is likely that this species is actually a species complex of multiple different species that have been diverging since the Pliocene, and diverged from the V. indicus species complex 4.7 million years ago. [4]

V. jobiensis is endemic to New Guinea and surrounding islands such as Biak, Salawati, Yapen, Normanby, and Waigeo[4]. It occurs in rainforests at altitudes of 0–900 m (0–2,953 ft).[1]

V. jobiensis grows up to 120 centimetres (3.9 ft) in total length (including tail). The colour of the throat is white-yellow to red, to which one of its common names refers.

V. jobiensis primarily eats insects, and sometimes frogs[4], but may also take freshwater fish and small mammals.[5]

V. jobiensis is hunted for human consumption in New Guinea.[6]

V. jobiensis is oviparous.[3]

Peach-throated monitor on log in a vivarium

The specific name, jobiensis, which is Latin, means "from Jobi". Jobi is the island also known as Yapen, which is the type locality of this species.[3]

The junior synonym, Varanus karlschmidti, was named in honor of American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt.[7]

• Ahl E (1932). "Eine neue Eidechse und zwei neue Frösche von der Insel Jobi ". Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 17: 892–899. (Varanus indicus jobiensis, new subspecies, p. 892). (in German).
• Mertens R (1951). "A New Lizard of the Genus Varanus from New Guinea". Fieldiana Zoology 31 (43): 467–471. (Varanus karlschmidti, new species).
• Ziegler T, Schmitz A, Koch A, Böhme W (2007). "A review of the subgenus Euprepiosauras of Varanus (Squamata: Varanidae): morphological and molecular phylogeny, distribution and zoogeography, with an identification key for members of the V. indicus and V. prasinus species groups". Zootaxa 1472: 1-28.

• Photo at Varanus.net
• Care of Varanus jobiensis at Repticzone.com