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Fast Facts:
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The
genus name for monitor lizards, Varanus, is a Latin word derived
from "Waran", an Arabic word for monitor. The "monitor"
name probably originated from the superstitious belief that Nile
monitors warned of the presence of crocodiles. Nile monitors eat
crocodile eggs and were therefore often seen near crocodile nesting
sites.
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There
are 40 or so species of monitors (number varies with different
references.) Approximately two-thirds of the monitor species are
from Australia, while the remaining one-third is found in Africa,
the Middle East, tropical Asia, and some Pacific Islands.
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| Scientific Name:
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Varanus salvator
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| Classification:
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Phylum Chordata, Class Reptilia, Order Squamata, Suborder
Sauria, Family Varanidae
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| Status:
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While the Malayan water monitor is not listed as endangered by the
United States Fish & Wildlife Service or the IUCN (International
Union for the Conservation of Nature), some of the other species
of monitor lizards are.
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| Range:
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"Sri Lanka, India, Indochina, South China, the Malay Peninsula
and various islands of Malaysia, the Philippines, and New Guinea,
to other islands in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea"
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| Habitat:
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typically found in aquatic habitats
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| Diet:
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In the wild, water monitors prey on small vertebrates, eggs,
snails and insects.
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| Size:
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Adult Malayan water monitors average 3.5 to 5 feet in length, but
lengths of 6 to 7, and even 9 feet have been reported.
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| Location:
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Special Features:
- Most
monitor species grow to lengths of 3 feet or more, making them
the largest of all living lizards. Monitors range in size from
the smaller tree monitors (1.5 feet) to the Komodo dragon, an
endangered species native to Indonesia, which may reach lengths
of 10 feet.
- The
Malayan water monitor is known by several other names, including
Asian water monitor, water monitor, Malayan monitor, common water
monitor, two-banded monitor, ring lizard, rice lizard, plain lizard
and no-mark lizard (CITES; Halliday).
- Monitor
lizards have become fairly popular in the pet trade, but these
animals do not make good pets, especially because of their large
size and sharp teeth.
- Monitors
are usually active during the day.
- Monitors
have 5 digits on each foot and each digit has a long, curved claw.
- Monitors
"intimidate predators by lashing out with their tails, inflating
their throats, hissing loudly, turning sideways and compressing
their bodies" (Halliday 107).
- While
monitors spend most of their time on the ground, some species
are quite adept at climbing and swimming. Malayan water monitors
have even been seen swimming in the sea, far from the shoreline
(Halliday 107)
Threats to survival:
Killing for the leather trade and for body parts for exotic souvenirs.
Breeding & care of young
Females typically lay their eggs 4 to 6 weeks after breeding. Wild monitors either excavate burrows, or lay their eggs in termite nests or hollow tree trunks
Water monitors may lay from 3 to 25 eggs, but the average is 15 per clutch. The eggs are white and somewhat soft-shelled and hatch in 165 to 195 days.
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