They have an elongated body topped of with a long head and pointed snout. The monitors jaws are very, very powerful. Many species do well in captivity, but successful breeding is pretty rare. These lizards are distinguished by a collar of large scales on the underside of their necks. They have slender elongated bodies with a well defined head above a narrow neck, a long extendable tongue that is deeply forked, a long slender tail that can be shed, and thin toes.
Typical lizards are hardy and easily kept in captivity though they move very quickly.
The structure of their tail supports fast zigzag movements and very accurate jumps that are needed to catch their insect prey. They are all insectivores. Many will breed easily in captivity. Most are egglayers though some give live birth. The cordylidae lizards are found in Africa southeast of the Sahara and in Madagascar.