Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: Graham Alexander
Facilitators: Krystal Tolley
Reviewers: Michael Bates Juan-Jacques Forgus Krystal Tolley Luke Verburgt Josh Weeber

Rationale (Changed due to Same category and criteria)

Widespread and common, with no known substantial threats.

Distribution

Occurs over much of sub-Saharan Africa, from the Nile River southwards to South Africa (Branch 1998, Bayless 2002). Limited mainly to the eastern half of South Africa, but extends west along the Orange River to the West Coast (Bates et al. 2014).  It reaches the southern limit of its distribution at the Seekoei River in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

Population trend

Trend

The population is considered stable.

Threats

Although used in the muthi market, this is unlikely to constitute a significant threat as the species is widely distributed and abundant.

Uses and trade

This species is legally traded with over 1,050 live animals reportedly exported since 2005 (Sinovas et al. 2016). Although further research is required, it is likely that a large number of these animals are utilized in the traditional medicine  market (Williams et al. 2016).

Conservation

None recommended.

References 

[@book{612,
 address = {Pretoria},
 author = {Bates, M.F., Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M., Burger, M., Marais, J., Alexander, G.J. and de Villiers, M.S.},
 publisher = {Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute},
 title = {Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland},
 year = {2014}
}
,@book{2817,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {Branch, W.R.},
 publisher = {Struik Publishers},
 title = {Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Edition},
 year = {1998}
}
,@article{5336,
 author = {Bourquin, O.},
 journal = {Durban Museum Novitates},
 pages = {57--103},
 title = {Reptiles (Reptilia) in KwaZulu-Natal: 1 - diversity and distribution},
 volume = {29},
 year = {2004}
}
,@article{198539,
 author = {Bayless, M.K.},
 journal = {Journal of Biogeography},
 pages = {1643--1701},
 title = {Monitor lizards: a pan-African check-list of their zoogeography (Sauria: Varanidae: Polydaedalus)},
 volume = {29},
 year = {2002}
}
,@article{198539,
 author = {Böhme, W. and Ziegler, T.},
 journal = {Herpetological Journal},
 pages = {155--162},
 title = {A taxonomic review of the <i>Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus</i> (Linnaeus, 1766) species complex},
 volume = {7},
 year = {1997}
}
,@article{198539,
 author = {Williams, V.L., Moshoeu, T.J. and Alexander G.J.},
 journal = {South African Journal of Science},
 number = {7-8},
 pages = {1--9},
 title = {Reptiles sold as traditional medicine in Xipamanine Market, Maputo, Mozambique, South Africa.},
 volume = {112},
 year = {2016}
}
,@book{198539,
 address = {Cambridge, UK},
 author = {Sinovas, P., Prince, B. King, E., Davis, F., Hinsley, A., Pavitt, A. and Pfab, M},
 publisher = {UNEP-WCMC},
 title = {Southern Africa’s wildlife trade: and analysis of CITES trade in SADC countries. Technical report prepared for the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)},
 year = {2016}
}
,@article{198539,
 author = {Dowell, S.A., de Buffrénil, V., Kolokotronis, S.O. and Hekkala, E.R.},
 journal = {BMC genetics},
 number = {1},
 pages = {32},
 title = {Fine-scale genetic analysis of the exploited Nile monitor (<i>Varanus niloticus</i>) in Sahelian Africa.},
 volume = {16},
 year = {2015}
}
,]
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