Varanus cumingi (Martin, 1839)
コレクター王子が収集したオオトカゲ
A Monitor Lizard Collected by the “Prince of Collectors”
フィリピンの固有種で、ミンダナオ島などに分布し、マングローブ林や熱帯雨林に生息しています。体長は最大で約150cmに達し、暗色の体に黄色い帯が入り、頭部は鮮やかな黄色を呈します。昼行性で、主に魚類や甲殻類、鳥類、齧歯類などの小動物を捕食します。
種小名 cuming(i) は、英国の貝類・植物の著名なコレクターであるヒュー・カミング（1791〜1865）にちなみ命名されました。彼のコレクションは世界有数の規模を誇り、科学研究に多大な貢献を果たしたことから「コレクターの王子」と称されています。生涯に収集した標本数は、植物標本が約13万点、貝類標本が約3万点にも及びます。
とくに3年半にわたるフィリピン遠征で収集された動植物標本は、自然史研究に大きな影響を与えました。カミングに献名された学名をもつ生物は、彼の本領であった貝類や植物に多く、貝類アサジガイ科の Cumingia 属のように、属名そのものに名を残す例もあります。自費で船を購入し、船内を標本保存に最適化するほど徹底した管理体制で収集に専念した彼の足跡は、現在も数多くの学名に刻まれています。
The Yellow-headed Water Monitor is a species endemic to the Philippines, occurring primarily on Mindanao and nearby islands, where it inhabits mangrove forests and tropical rainforests. It can reach a maximum total length of approximately 150 cm. The body is dark in color with yellow bands, and the head is distinctly bright yellow. This species is diurnal and preys mainly on fish, crustaceans, birds, and small mammals such as rodents.
The specific epithet cumingi was named in honor of Hugh Cuming (1791–1865), a renowned British collector of mollusks and plants. His collections were among the largest in the world, and his immense contributions to scientific research earned him the epithet “Prince of Collectors.” Over the course of his lifetime, he amassed approximately 130,000 plant specimens and 30,000 mollusk specimens.
In particular, the specimens collected during his three-and-a-half-year expedition in the Philippines had a profound impact on natural history research. Many organisms bearing scientific names dedicated to Cuming are found among mollusks and plants, the fields in which he excelled. Some taxa even commemorate him at the generic level, such as the bivalve genus Cumingia (family Semelidae). Having purchased a ship at his own expense and modified its interior specifically for specimen preservation, Cuming devoted himself entirely to systematic collecting, and his legacy remains preserved in numerous scientific names today.
参考文献
Tkachev, Dmitri & Neihzko, Ivan “Yellow-headed water monitor (Varanus cumingi)” Bion Terrarium Center. 2025年12月31日閲覧
“Digitising Philippine Flora: Hugh Cuming and the Cambridge University Herbarium” Google Arts & Culture. 2025年12月31日閲覧
“Cuming, Hugh (1791-1865)” Global Plants, JSROR. 2025年12月31日閲覧
“Yellow-headed Water Monitor” Animalia. 2025年12月31日閲覧