[1][3][4] The specific name, finschi, is in honor of German naturalist Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch (1839–1917).

[1][6] Further research on the available museum specimens enlarged the range of the species, which currently includes the Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland), New Guinea and Queensland, Australia.

[7][8] The specimen from Queensland lacks any fixed data on its locality, so the exact distribution of Finsch's monitor in Northern Australia remains unknown.

[4] Reports of this species, V. finschi, imported for the pet trade from the Kei Islands are erroneous and refer to similar though distinct animals that have yet to be formally described.

[10] The dorsal pattern of V. finschi adults consists of "black ocelli, which are often arranged in irregular transverse rows - with a yellowish center on a dark grayish background.