The mangrove monitor, mangrove goanna, or Western Pacific monitor lizard (Varanus indicus) is a member of the monitor lizard family with a large distribution from northern Australia and New Guinea to the Moluccas and Solomon Islands. It grows to lengths of . Names It is known as wbl yb in the Kalam language of Papua New Guinea. Taxonomy The mangrove monitor was first described by the French herpetologist François Marie Daudin in 1802. Daudin's original holotype of a subadult specimen was collected on Ambon, Indonesia, and has since disappeared from the museum in Paris. Daudin's original name for the species was Tupinambis indicus, an appellation it would carry for 100 years until being renamed as a Varanus. The generic name Varanus is derived from the Arabic word waral (ورل), which translates to English as "monitor." Its specific name, indicus, is Latin for the country of India, but in this instance it relates to Indonesia or the East Indies, where the animal was first described. Due to its large geographic range, V. indicus is considered a cryptic species complex of at least four species: Varanus indicus, Varanus doreanus, Varanus spinulosus, and Varanus jobiensis. More research is being done on possible future species within this complex, not surprisingly, since it has had over 25 different scientific names since it was first described. Populations from the Marshall Islands, Caroline Islands, and Mariana Islands formerly classified in V. indicus are now considered to comprise two distinct species: Bennett's long-tailed monitor (V. bennetti) and the Mariana monitor (V. tsukamotoi). Distribution and habitat The mangrove monitor's range extends throughout northern Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, where it inhabits damp forests near coastal rivers, mangroves, and permanent inland lakes. It also occurs on the Moluccan islands of Morotai, Ternate, Halmahera, Obi, Buru, Ambon, Haruku, and Seram in Indonesia. Within this range of thousands of miles across hundreds of islands are large variations in size, pattern, and scalation. The monitors have also been introduced to Japan since the 1940s. Anatomy and morphology The monitor's body is dark green or black in color and covered with golden-yellow spots, with light coloration on the top of its head and a solid, cream-colored belly lacking dark markings. It has a distinct dark purple tongue and serrated teeth. The mangrove monitor attains different sizes in different parts of its range, but seldom if ever exceeds 1.3 m in total length.