Taxonomy and Etymology
V. salvadorii was first described as Monitor salvadorii by Wilhelm Peters and Giacomo Doria in 1878 from a female specimen with a snout-to-vent length of 48 cm (19 in) long and a tail measuring 114 cm (45 in) in length.
The generic name Varanus is derived from the Arabic waral (ورل), meaning "Lizard". The term "Monitor" is thought to have come about from confusion between waral and the German warnen, meaning "warning". The term "Goanna" came about as a corruption of the name "Iguana". The specific name is derived from a Latinization of Tommaso Salvadori, an Italian ornithologist who worked in New Guinea. Later, in 1885, it was renamed Varanus salvadorii by George Albert Boulenger. The Papua monitor is occasionally confused for the Water monitor (V. salvator) because of their similar scientific names.
Read more about this topic: Varanus Salvadorii
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