An Observation on the Scales of Three Species of Varanus Using Scanning Electron Microscopy

Skins of Monitor lizards (Varanus spp.) have been in trade for a number of decades and used for fashion products due to their decorative aspect and material durability. These lizards live in different habitat types in Indonesia. I explored scale morphology of three species using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to compare variations among these three species, each of which represents a habitat type. The Asian Water monitor (Varanus salvator) represents semi-aquatic habitat, the Mangrove monitor (Varanus indicus) represents coastal habitat, and the Green Tree monitor (Varanus prasinus) represents forest habitat. Skin samples cut from the dorsal/lateral and ventral parts of the body, hind leg, and tail were prepared for SEM and images thereof were taken for descriptive analysis. I found variations in shape, size, and arrangement of scales among the species studied; however, these variations are also shown within species. Whether scale variations among species are related to habitat types, skin samples of other species need to be included for analysis. I also recommend further investigation to test whether these variations are phylogenetic. Knowledge on the scale morphology of Monitor lizards can be useful for wildlife forensics, for example to trace the species of source, in addition to detection of leather originality. Proceeding of the International Workshop on Tropical Bio-resources for Sustainable Development. Hal. 48-53