Ornate monitor
| Ornate monitor | |
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| Subgenus: | Polydaedalus
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| Species: | V. ornatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Varanus ornatus (Daudin, 1803)
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The ornate monitor (Varanus ornatus) is a species of monitor lizards native to West and Middle Africa.[1] They live in lowland rainforests.[2] Until 1997, the ornate monitor was considered a subspecies of the Nile monitor. These two species are in the subgenus Polydaedalus together with the savannah, rock and Yemen monitors.[3]
Description
The back is dark – olive green to black – with cross bands of yellow or cream color ocelli plus additional bands on the tail. The ventral side is yellowish with gray banding. The number of ocelli bands on the body, four, or five, distinguishes V. ornatus from V. niloticus, which has from six to nine. The markings fade somewhat as the animal matures.[4][5] Ornate monitors are quite large and can grow up to two meters in length. Until 1997, they were considered a subspecies of the Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus), but then were assigned to a separate species.
They feed on crabs, insects, centipedes, and small rodents.[6] They also scavenge, feeding on carrion and dried carcasses.[4]
References
- ^ Varanus ornatus
- ^ Pianka, E.R. and King, D.R. (2004). Varanoid lizards of the world. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.
- ^ Böhme, W., & Ziegler, T. (1997). A taxonomic review of the Varanus (Polydaedalus) niloticus (Linnaeus, 1766) species complex. The Herpetological Journal 7: 155-162.
- ^ a b "Ornate Nile monitor". Toronto Zoo. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
- ^ "Nile monitor, Water leguaan". Mampam Conservation. Retrieved 2013-10-06.
- ^ Lizards of Southeast Asia: Clouded Monitor - Varanus bengalensis nebulosus
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