Varanus niloticus

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Stays close to water, and can dive for up to one hour. It is very agile on land and in the water. It is diurnal .

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of 45 meters (147 feet).[1]

Biology

Reproduction

Combat between males is frequently observed during the breeding season in some species. Monitors lay 7 to 35 soft-shelled eggs , usually deposited in holes in riverbanks or in trees along water courses . The Nile monitor often lays its eggs in termite nests . There is little or no sexual dimorphism (difference in appearance ).

Eggs are 2 inches long with leathery shells . Incubation is 8 to 10 weeks. The young use an egg tooth to emerge .

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Lacerta capensis Sparrman 1783: 749
2. Lacerta monitor Linnaeus 1758: 201
3. Lacerta nilotica Linnaeus 1766: 369
4. Lacertus tupinambis LACÉPÈDE 1788 /i> (In Part)
5. Monitor elegans senegalensis Schlegel 1844
6. Monitor niloticus Lichtenstein 1818
7. Monitor pulcher Leach in Bowdich 1819
8. Stellio saurus Laurenti 1768: 56
9. Tupinambis elegans DAUDIN 1802 /i> (In Part)
10. Tupinambis stellatus DAUDIN 1802 /i> (In Part)
11. Varanus /i> (Polydaedalus) Niloticus - Mertens 1942
12. Varanus niloticus — Ast 2001
13. Varanus niloticus — Auerbach 1987: 136
14. Varanus niloticus — Boulenger 1885: 317
15. Varanus niloticus — De Lisle 1996: 131
16. Varanus niloticus — DumÉril & Bibron 1836: 476
17. Varanus niloticus — Fitzinger 1826: 50
18. Varanus niloticus — Schmidt 1919: 485

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Uetz P.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Varanus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 163 species and subspecies in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

V. (Empagusia) flavescens · V. (Hydrosaurus) · V. (Hydrosaurus) mustelinus · V. (Odatria) semiremex · V. acanthosaura · V. acanthurus (Spiny-Tailed Monitor) · V. acanthurus acanthurus · V. acanthurus brachyrus · V. acanthurus brachyurus · V. albigularis (White-Throated Monitor) · V. albigularis albigularis (White-Throated Monitor Lizard) · V. albigularis angolensis · V. albigularis ionidesi · V. albigularis microstictus · V. albogularis · V. arenarius · V. auffenbergi · V. baritji (Black-Spotted Ridge-Tailed Momitor) · V. beccarii (Black Tree Monitor) · V. bellii · V. bengalensis (Bengal Monitor) · V. bengalensis bengalensis · V. bengalensis irrawadicus · V. bengalensis nebulosus · V. bengalensis vietnamensis · V. bivittatus · V. boehmei · V. bogerti (Bogert's Monitor) · V. brevicauda (Short-Tailed Pygmy Monitor) · V. bushi · V. caerulivirens (Turquoise Monitor) · V. caudolineatus (Line-Tailed Pygmy Monitor) · V. cauliolineatus · V. cerambonensis · V. chlorostigma · V. cumingi · V. doreanus (Bluetail Monitor) · V. dracaina · V. dumerili · V. dumerilii (Dumeril Monitor) · V. dumerilii dumerilii · V. dumerilii heteropholis · V. dumerili dumerilii · V. dumerili heteropholis · V. eremias · V. eremius (Rusty Desert Monitor) · V. exanthematicus (Savannah Monitor Lizard) · V. exanthematicus albigularis · V. exanthematicus angolensis · V. exanthematicus exanthematicus · V. exanthematicus ionidesi · V. exanthematicus microstictus · V. exanthenaticus · V. exanthimaticus · V. finschi · V. flavescens (Calcutta Oval-Grain Lizard) · V. giganteus (Perentie) · V. gilleni (Pygmy Mulga Monitor) · V. glauerti (Kimberley Rock Monitor) · V. glebopalma (Black-Palmed Rock Monitor) · V. goldii · V. gouldi · V. gouldii (Sand Goanna) · V. gouldii-xx · V. gouldii flavirufus · V. gouldii gouldii · V. griseus (Desert Monitor) · V. griseus caspius · V. griseus griseus (Desert Monitor) · V. griseus koniecznyi · V. guttatus · V. heteropholis · V. indicus (Mangrove Monitor Lizard) · V. indicus-xx · V. indicus indicus · V. indicus jobiensis · V. indicus rouxi (Indian Monitor Lizard) · V. indicus spinulosus · V. ingrami · V. jobiensis (Peach-Throated Monitor) · V. juxtindicus · V. kalabeck · V. karlschmidti · V. karlschmidtii · V. keithhornei (Nesbit River Monitor) · V. kingorum (Pygmy Rock Monitor) · V. komodoensis (Komodo Island Monitor) · V. kordensis · V. leucostigma · V. mabitang (Panay-Waran) · V. macraei · V. marathonensis · V. marmoratus · V. melinus · V. mertensi (Mertens's Water Monitor) · V. microstictus · V. mitchelli · V. nasutus · V. nebulosus (Clouded Monitor) · V. nilaticus

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A contribution to the herpetology of Arabia. With a preliminary list of the reptiles and batrachians of Egypt. London, R.H. Porter, 1896. ENG url p. 68.
• A history of British fossil reptiles. By Sir Richard Owen. London, Cassell & company limited, 1849-84. ENG url p. 309, p. 533, p. 534.
• A naturalist in the Transvaal. By W.L. Distant London, R.H. Porter, 1892. ENG url p. 75, p. 77.
• A naturalist on lake Victoria, with an account of sleeping sickness and the tse-tse fly, by G.D. Hale Carpenter with 2 coloured plates, a map, charts, and 87 illustrations. London, T.F. Unwin ltd.[1920] ENG url p. 182.
• A new species of Globidens from South Dakota, and a review of globidentine mosasaurs / Dale A. Russell --. [Chicago]: Field Museum of Natural History, 1975. ENG url p. 237.
• Abhandlungen. Berlin, W. de Gruyter [etc.] GER url p. 15, p. 21, p. 26, p. 28.
• African Ixodoidea. l. Ticks of the Sudan... [Washington]1956. ENG url p. 225, p. 284.
• African reptiles and amphibians in Field Museum of Natural History. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1936. ENG url p. 16, p. 59.
• Amphibia and reptiles, by Hans Gadow. London, Macmillan and co., limited, 1901. ENG url p. 543.
• Anales de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. Madrid: La Sociedad, ENG url p. 184, p. 290.
• Anatomische Hefte, München [etc.]J.F. Bergmann. GER url p. 10, p. 79.
• Annals of the South African Museum. Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. Cape Town [etc., South African Museum, etc.] ENG url p. 104, p. 471.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. ENG url p. 101, p. 104, p. 107, p. 108, p. 125, p. 126, p. 156, p. 82.
• Archiv für Naturgeschichte. Berlin: Nicolai, 1835- GER url p. 102, p. 173, p. 183, p. 187, p. 188, p. 193, p. 296, p. 447, p. 64, p. 93.
• Arkiv för zoologi / utgivet af K. Svenska vetenskaps-akademien. Stockholm: P.A. Norstedt & soner, 1903-1974. SWE url p. 10, p. 3, p. 65, p. 66, p. 67, p. 68, p. 69, p. 71, p. 72, p. 73, p. 74, p. 75, p. 76, p. 81.
• Ast (2001) Cladistics 17(3):211-226 [erratum in 18 (1):125]
• Auerbach (1987) The Amph. Rept. Botswana.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
• Barnett (2001) Herpetological Bulletin (77):5-1
• Batrachians and reptiles from British East Africa. Chicago, 1910. ENG url p. 409.
• Bauer et al. (2003) Herpetol. Nat. Hist. 8:111-160 [2001]
• Bayless (2002) Journal of Biogeography 29: 1643–1701
• Bennett (1998) Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main.
• Biologisches Zentralblatt. Leipzig [etc.]VEB Georg Thieme [etc.] GER url p. 794.
• Bonetti (2002) 100 Sauri. Mondadori (Milano), 192 pp.
• Boulenger (1885) Catalogue lizards, vol. 2, 2nd ed.
• Brehms Tierleben: allgemeine Kunde des Tierreichs / von A.E. Brehm; mit etwa 2000 Abbildungen im Text, ©ber 500 Tafeln in Farbendruck, Kupfer©Þtzung und Holzschnitt und 13 Karten. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut, 1911-1921. GER url p. 126.
• Broadley (1991) Arnoldia Zimbabwe 9 (37): 519-538
• Buffrénil et al. (2002) Journal of Herpetology. 36 (3):419-426
• Bulletin biologique de la France et de la Belgique. Montreuil [etc.]Gauther-Villars [etc.] FRE url p. 96.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, ENG url p. 215, p. 229, p. 265, p. 299, p. 303, p. 487, p. 489, p. 490, p. 493, p. 493, p. 495, p. 56.
• Bulletin of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick. St. John, N. B., Natural History Society of New Brunswick. ENG url p. 579.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 10, p. 60.
• Böhme et al. (1997) Herpetological Journal, 7: 155-162.
• Catalogue of the books, manuscripts, maps and drawings in the British Museum (Natural History) London: BM(NH), 1903-1940. ENG url p. 744.
• Cimatti (2005) Reptilia (GB) (42): 65-69
• Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians and Reptiles, Third Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. St. Louis, Missouri, USA. ii-41. ISBN: 0-916984-21-4.
• Compendium der Helminthologie. Ein Verzeichniss der bekannten Helminthen, die frei oder in thierischen Körpern leben, geordnet nach ihren Wohnthieren, unter Angabe der Organe, in denen sie gefunden sind, und mit Beifügung der Litte von O. von Linstow. Hannover: Hahn'sche Buchhandlung, 1878. GER url p. 192.
• Contents and index to volume 7, numbers 1 to 12, Zoological series / Charles B. Cory. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1912. ENG url p. 441.
• Daudin (1802) Histoire Naturelle, reptiles, vol. 3.
• De Lisle (1996) Natural History Monitor Lizards.
• Die mittlere und ©Þussere Ohrsph©Þre der Lacertilia und Rhynchocephalia. Jena, G. Fischer, 1898. GER url p. 130, p. 146, p. 242, p. 64, p. 66.
• Diet and arboreality in the emerald monitor, Varanus prasinus: with comments on the study of adaptation: a contribution in celebration of the distinguished scholarship of Robert F. Inger on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday / Harry W. Greene. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1986. ENG url p. 8.
• Dr. H.G. Bronn's Klassen und Ordnungen des Thier-Reichs: wissenschaftlich dargestellt in Wort und Bild. Leipzig: C.F. Winter, 1880- GER url p. 750.
• Duméril & Bibron (1836) Erpetologie Générale, Vol.3.
• Ecological animal geography; an authorized, rewritten edition based on Tiergeographie auf ockologischer grundlage / by Richard Hesse prepared by W. C. Allee and Karl P. Schmidt New York: J. Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 1937. ENG url p. 447, p. 595.
• Fishery bulletin / U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service. Washington, D.C.: The Service: ENG url p. 691.
• Fitzinger (1826) Neue Classification der Reptilien.
• General function of the gall bladder from the evolutionary standpoint, by Frank W. Gorham and Andrew Conway Ivy. Chicago, 1938. ENG url p. 180.
• Haagner et al. (1993) J. Herpetol. Assoc. Africa, 42 Sept (38).
• Handbuch der zoologie: Nach der zweiten holländischen ausgabe. Leipzig: L. Voss, 1850-56. GER url p. 306.
• Handwörterbuch der naturwissenschaften / hrsg. von prof. dr. E. Korschelt (zoologie) prof. dr. G. Linck (mineralogie und geologie) prof. dr. F. Oltmanns (botanik) prof. dr. K. Schaum (chemie) prof. dr. H. Th. Simon (physi Jena: G. Fischer, 1912-1915. GER url p. 322.
• Handwörterbuch der Zoologie. Unter Mitwirkung von Prof. Dr. von Dalla Torre, bearb. von Dr. Friedrich Knauer. Stuttgart, F. Enke, 1887. GER url p. 508, p. 562.
• Herp©tologie d'Angola et du Congo; ouvrage publi© sous les auspices du Minist©·re de la marine et des colonies, par J.V. Barboza du Bocage, professeur de zoologie © l'©?cole polytechnique, directeur du Mus©um national de Lisbonne. Lisbonne, Impr. nationale, 1895. FRE url p. 26.
• Histoire naturelle de Lacépède, comprenant les cétacés, les quadrupèdes ovipares, les serpents et les poissons. Bruxelles, A. Deros, 1853. FRE url p. 223.
• Hoogmoed (1980) Lacerta 38 (7): 62-65
• Host-parasite relations between man and his intestinal Protozoa, by Robert Hegner New York, The Century Co.[c1927] ENG url p. 164.
• Introduction and index to Fieldiana: Geology volume 33 / Eugene S. Richardson, Jr. -- William D. Turnbull --. Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1981. ENG url p. 620.
• Jornal de sciencias mathematicas, physicas e naturaes / Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa. Lisboa: Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa, 1866-1927 POR url p. 178, p. 194.
• Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society. Oxford [etc.]Royal Microscopical Society. ENG url p. 146, p. 633, p. 712, p. 813, p. 817.
• Katalog der Reptilien-Sammlung im Museum I.-[II.] teil. Frankfurt a. M., Druck von Gebr©der Knauer, 1893-98. GER url p. 71.
• Lehrbuch der Zoologie / von Richard Hertwig. Jena: G. Fischer, 1910. GER url p. 571.
• Lenz (1995) Mertensiella 5: 1-256
• Leçons sur la physiologie et l'anatomie comparée de l'homme et des animaux / faites à la Faculté des Sciences de Paris par H. Milne Edwards. Paris: Librairie de Victor Masson, 1857-1881. FRE url p. 430.
• Liberia, by Sir Harry Johnston. With an appendix on the flora of Liberia, by Dr. Otto Stapf; 28 coloured illustrations by Sir Harry Johnston, 24 botanical drawings by Miss Matilda Smith, 402 black and white il London, Hutchinson, 1906. ENG url p. 815.
• Linnaeus (1758) Systema Naturae.
• Meerman (1979) Lacerta 37 (10-11): 154-163
• Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zo©logy, at Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. Cambridge [Mass.]: The Museum, 1876-1938. ENG url p. 91, p. 97.
• Mires de la Soci zoologique de France. Paris: Au Siege de la Soci, 1888- FRE url p. 371.
• Miscellaneous publication - University of Kansas, Museum of Natural History. Lawrence, University of Kansas, 1946-1996. ENG url p. 108, p. 205.
• Natur und Museum. Frankfurt am Main. MUL url p. 129, p. 167, p. 63.
• Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift. Jena [etc.]G. Fischer [etc.] GER url p. 17, p. 720, p. 721.
• Neue classification der reptilien nach ihren nat©rlichen verwandtschaften. Nebst einer verwandtschafts-tafel und einem verzeichnisse der reptilien-sammlung des K. K. zoologischen museum's zu Wien. Von L. J. Fitzinger. Wien, J. G. Heubner, 1826. GER url p. 50.
• Nuovi annali delle scienze naturali. Bologna. url p. 455.
• On the anatomy of vertebrates By Richard Owen. London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1866-68. ENG url p. 155, p. 174, p. 178, p. 191, p. 851.
• Osteology of Simosaurus gaillardoti and the relationships of stem-group Sauropterygia / Olivier Rieppel --. [Chicago, Ill.]: Field Museum of Natural History, 1994. ENG url p. 80.
• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. [Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia] ENG url p. 71, p. 72, p. 816.
• Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society held at Philadelphia for promoting useful knowledge. Philadelphia: The Society ENG url p. 220.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] ENG url p. 4.
• Protozoology: a manual for medical men, veterinarians and zoologists / by C. M. Wenyon. New York: W. Wood, 1926. ENG url p. 583, p. 711.
• Report of the Wellcome tropical research laboratories at the Gordon memorial college, Khartoum. Khartoum, Pub. for Department of education, Sudan government, by Baillière, Tindall & Cox, London, 1904-11. ENG url p. 142, p. 192, p. 288, p. 461.
• Reptilia and Batrachia / by George A. Boulenger. London: Taylor and Francis, 1890. ENG url p. 161.
• Revue suisse de zoologie. Genève, Kundig [etc.] FRE url p. 289.
• Rödel et al. (1997) Salamandra 33 (4): 225-240
• Schmidt (1919) Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 39 (2): 385-624
• Science progress in the twentieth century: a quarterly journal of scientific work & thought. London: John Murray, 1906-1916. ENG url p. 690.
• Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe. Wien: K.-k. Hof-und Staatsdruckerei in Commission bei Karl Gerold's Sohn, GER url p. 401.
• Sitzungsberichte. Kaiserliche Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse. Wien: K.-K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei in Kommission bei A. H©lder, GER url p. 243.
• Smithsonian miscellaneous collections. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1862-1968. ENG url p. 120, p. 178.
• South African journal of science. [Marshalltown, Transvaal: South African Association for the Advancement of Science, ENG url p. 167.
• Switak (1997) Monitor: Journal of the Victorian Herpetological Society 8 (3): 177-179
• The natural history of South Africa. by F.W. Fitzsimons. London, New York [etc.]Longmans, Green and co., 1923. ENG url p. 165, p. 240.
• The variation of animals in nature, by G.C. Robson and O.W. Richards with 2 coloured plates and 30 illustrations in the text. London, Longmans, Green and co.[1936] ENG url p. 290, p. 391.
• Thieme (2004) Reptilia (Münster) 9 (5): 43-48
• Tierbau und tierleben in ihrem zusammenhang betrachtet von dr. Richard Hesse und dr. Franz Doflein. Leipzig, und BerlinB. G. Teubner, 1910-14. GER url p. 132, p. 314.
• Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. [San Diego]: The Society, 1905- ENG url p. 170, p. 172.
• Ueber den Bau und die Entwickelung des Brustbeins der Saurier / Dr. Heinrich Rathke K©nigsberg: E.J. Dalkowski, 1853. GER url p. 15, p. 18, p. 8.
• Verhandlungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Basel. Basel, Birkher. GER url p. 299.
• Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der Deutschen Zentral-Africa-Expedition, 1907-1908: unter Führung Adolf Friedrichs, herzogs zu Mecklenburg. Leipzig: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1910- ENG url p. 199, p. 209.
• Wissenschaftliche ergebnisse der zweiten Deutschen Zentral-Africa-Expedition, 1910-1911, unter Führung Adolf Friedrichs. Leipzig, Klinkhardt & Biermann[1913- GER url p. 409, p. 424, p. 425.
• Wright (1993) Reptile & Amphibian magazine 1993 (Sept/Oct.): 36-44
• Yeboah (1994) African Journal of Ecology 32 (4): 331-333
• Zoologica. Stuttgart [etc.]E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchandlung [etc.] GER url p. 155, p. 38.
• Zoologische Jahrbücher. Jena [Germany]: G. Fischer, GER url p. 582, p. 590, p. 612, p. 674.
• Zoologischer Anzeiger. Jena, VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag. GER url p. 159, p. 169, p. 441, p. 507, p. 530, p. 742.
• Zoologischer Jahresbericht. Berlin, R. Friedlander. GER url p. 198, p. 24, p. 52, p. 55, p. 6, p. 98.
• Zoologisches Centralblatt. Leipzig: W. Engelmann, [1894-1902] GER url p. 398, p. 74.
• Zoologisches Zentralblatt. Leipzig: W. Engelmann, [1903-1912] GER url p. 220, p. 718, p. 827.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 4, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 27, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 7 providers.
• Honolulu Zoo
• Uetz, Peter. The Reptile Database

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 27, 2008:

• California Academy of Sciences: CAS Herpetology Collection Catalog
• Carnegie Museums: Amphibians and Reptiles
• GBIF-Sweden: Herpetology (NRM)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB: Paleobiology Database
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Yale University Peabody Museum: Peabody Herp Collection DiGIR provider Service

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2546407
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Rep-32734
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 683047
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ARACM01020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 177763

Footnotes

1. Standard Deviation = 983.600 based on 18 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]

©2004-2009 the BayScience Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.