Savannah monitor

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Savannah monitor
Adult in captivity
Wild individual

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Subgenus: Polydaedalus
Species:
V. exanthematicus
Binomial name
Varanus exanthematicus
(Bosc, 1792)

The savannah monitor (Varanus exanthematicus) is a medium-sized

Polydaedalus
.

Etymology

The

zoologist Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc[4] originally described this lizard as Lacerta exanthematica in reference to the large oval scales on the back of its neck.[2]

The species was formerly known as Lacerta exanthematicus.[5]

Description

Savannah monitors are stoutly built, with relatively short limbs and toes, and skulls and dentition adapted to feed on hard-shelled prey. They are robust creatures, with powerful limbs for digging, powerful jaws and blunt, peglike teeth. Maximum size is rarely more than 100 cm. The skin coloration pattern varies according to the local habitat substrate. The body scales are large, usually less than 100 scales around midbody, a partly laterally compressed tail with a double dorsal ridge and nostrils equidistant from the eyes and the tip of the snout.[6]

The savannah monitor is often confused with the white-throat monitor (Varanus albigularis), which can grow to lengths of 5–6 ft. While similar in overall appearance, this species possesses significant morphological and ecological differences and is recognized as a very distinct species.

Behaviour

Diet

Graph showing bite force of the savannah monitor while feeding

Their diet is much more restricted than that of other African monitor lizards, consisting mainly of snails, crabs, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, orthopterans, mantids, hymenopterans, lepidopterans, beetles and other invertebrates, as well as frogs.

agamids and their own kind).[13][14]

Reproduction

Females dig a deep hole in the substrate, in which up to 40 or more eggs are laid, which hatch after about 156–160 days. Hatchlings start feeding a few days after the yolk sac has been absorbed, which may take 12 days or more after hatching.[15]

In captivity

Captive savannah monitor, wearing a reptile harness

The savannah monitor is the most common monitor lizard species available in the pet trade, accounting for almost half (48.0552%) of the entire international trade in live monitor lizards. [16] Despite its prevalence in global pet trade, successful captive reproduction is very rare, and a high mortality rate is associated with the species. [17] Adult specimens frequently become unwanted pets and are reported as being the most common monitor lizards by animal rescue agencies. The skins are traded within the international leather trade and originate mainly from Chad, Mali and Sudan.[citation needed]

Range

Its range extends throughout sub-Saharan Africa from

V. albigularis.[10] V. exanthematicus is primarily a ground-dwelling species that shelters in burrows, although it is sometimes found in bushes or low trees.[6] In the coastal plain of Ghana, V. exanthematicus juveniles are often associated with the burrows of the giant cricket Brachytrupes.[18]

Threats

V. exanthematicus is listed as least concern by IUCN.[1] The species is hunted for its leather and meat, and for the international pet trade. The trade in wild collected savannah monitors is not of a global conservation concern, due to the vast range of the species; in addition to the collection for the pet trade often occurring over a relatively small area.[19] An average of 30,574 live specimens were imported into the US each year, between 2000 and 2009; total imports of live specimens into the US between 2000 and 2010 was 325,480 animals. During the same period, 1,037 skins, shoes, and products of the species were imported into the US. Trade in live animals comes mainly from Ghana (235,903 animals exported between 2000 and 2010), Togo (188,110 animals exported between 2000 and 2010), and Benin (72,964 animals exported between 2000 and 2010). During the same period, total worldwide declared exports of skins and products of the species totalled 37,506.[20] However, substantial undeclared trade in the species occurs from Sudan, Nigeria, and elsewhere.[1] Within several West African nations, roadside diners and food stands specialize in “monitor stew”, a hot simmered dish of local vegetables and savannah monitor; it is unclear whether the cooked lizards are hunted or bred specifically for human consumption, or at what rate they are being killed for this purpose.[21]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T178346A16967669.en
    . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Bosc, Louis. Lacerta exanthematica. Act. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris 1. p. 25.
  3. ^ Simpson JA, Weiner ESC (editors) (1989). Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  4. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5
    . ("Bosc", p. 32).
  5. ^ Kaplan, Melissa. "Savannah Monitors". www.anapsid.org.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-9526632-9-5
    .
  7. ^ Herpetological Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 75-96 (2000) Preliminary Data on the Diet of Juvenile Varanus exanthematicus (SAURIA: VARANIDAE) In the Coastal Plain of Ghana. Daniel Bennett. Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen. https://web.archive.org/web/20131127140535/http://library.mampam.com/bennett2000dietofvaranusexanthematicus.pdf
  8. ^ "Varanus Exanthematicus".
  9. ^ Cisse, M (1972). "L'alimentaire des Varanides au Senegal". Bulletin l'Institute Fond. Afr. Noire. 34: 503–515.
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-253-34366-6
    .
  11. ^ Bennett, Daniel (2000). "Preliminary data on the diet of juvenile Varanus exanthematicus in the coastal plain of Ghana". Herpetological Journal. 10: 75–76.
  12. ^ "Varanus exanthematicus (Savannah Monitor)".
  13. ^ "What Can My Savannah Monitor Eat?". 22 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Varanus Exanthematicus".
  15. ^ Coiro, Jarret (August 2007). "Captive Breeding of Varanus exanthematicus". Biawak. 1 (1): 29–33.
  16. ^ Monitoring the Trade: Using the CITES Database to Examine the Global Trade in Live Monitor Lizards (Varanus spp.) ANGELO P. PERNETTA. BIAWAK. 2009. https://www.academia.edu/7931146/Monitoring_the_Trade_Using_the_CITES_Database_to_Examine_the_Global_Trade_in_Live_Monitor_Lizards_Varanus_spp
  17. ^ Mampam Conservation. Facts and Fiction about Savannah Monitors. Bennett. https://web.archive.org/web/20171214182359/http://www.mampam.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172&Itemid=87
  18. ^ Bennett, Daniel (2000). "Observations of Bosc's monitor lizard (Varanus exanthematicus) in the wild". Bulletin of Chicago Herpetological Society. 35: 177–180.
  19. ^ "Mampam Conservation - Savannah Monitors Lizards are Not Captive Bred". Archived from the original on 2016-04-05.
  20. ^ "CITES Trade Database". CITES. Retrieved 5 April 2012.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Kaufman, Dav (11 June 2022). "Savannah monitors in the wild (are we keeping them correctly?)". YouTube. Retrieved 3 March 2023.

Further reading

External links

Wikispecies has information related to Varanus exanthematicus.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Varanus exanthematicus.
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