Varanus

This page is about a genus that contains extinct and extant species; species marked with † are extinct.

## Statistics

### Diet

Carnivorous

*Varanus*, commonly known as a monitor lizard, is a varied genus of lizards that lived from the Pleistocene to the present day in Europe and Asia.

## Classification

Varanidae likely originated in Asia ~65 million years ago, but some estimate as early as the Late Mesozoic (~112 million years ago). Between 49 and 33 million years ago, they likely dispersed into Africa, possibly via Iran, and to Australia and the Indonesian archipelago 39-26 million years ago. Across Varanidae, their last common ancestor and closest extant relatives are the earless monitors of the Late Cretaceous. Once, snakes were a candidate for closest living relative, but it was proposed Serpentes were a sister group to iguanians and anguimorphs. Both snakes and monitor lizards have convergently evolved a forked tongue used to sense odor. Many subspecies of *Varanus* are recognized; *Varanus (Varanus)*, *"Varaneades"* (once recognized as valid), *Soterosaurus*, *Solomonsaurus*, *Psammosaurus*, *Polydaedalus*, *Philippinosaurus*, *Papusaurus*, *Odatria*, *Hapturosaurus*, *Euprepiosaurus* and *Empagusia*.

## Ecology

Some species of monitor lizards are proven to be venomous, whereas other species are quite harmless to human lives, some even kept as pets.

### Distribution

   *Varanus* emerged in Laurasia. From the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene, the group had diversified throughout Australia, New Guinea and the Soloman Islands three (separate) times. By the Late Miocene, they had arrived in Africa, Arabia, Asia and east Europe. By the Pleistocene, giant monitors existed in Southeast Asia and Australasia, the best known being megalania. This species, formerly placed in the genus "*Megalania*" but moved to *Varanus priscus*, was an iconic member of Australian Pleistocene megafauna, existing to ~50,000 years ago. Specimens of varanid lizards are known from Flores, having a more vast range than in the modern day. These specimens suggest they were much larger than modern *Varanus komodoensis*, weighing up to 220 kilograms (500 pounds), while their modern counterparts are average 90 kilograms (200 pounds), with the largest being 116 kilograms (366 pounds). They lived with *Homo floresiensis* and this population was probably ancestral[*citation needed*]. The earliest occurrence of the genus was recorded in Europe (Switzerland) during the Early Miocene. This individual is coeval with Spanish, French and Czechian records.

## Species

* †*V. hoffmani*?
* †*V. mokrensis*
* †*V. rusingensis*

Subgenus *Empagusia*:

* *V. bengalensis*
* *V. dumerilii*
* *V. flavescens*
* *V. nebulosus*
* *V. rudicollis*

Subgenus *Euprepiosaurus*:

* *V. bennetti*
* *V. caerulivirens*
* *V. cerambonensis*
* *V. colei*
* *V. doreanus*
* *V. douarrha*
* *V. finschi*
* *V. indicus*
* *V. jobiensis*
* *V. juxtindicus*
* *V. melinus*
* *V. lirungensis*
* *V. obor*
* *V. rainerguentheri*
* *V. semotus*
* *V. tsukamotoi*
* *V. yuwonoi*
* *V. zugorum*

Subgenus *Hapturosaurus*:

* *V. beccarii*
* *V. boehmei*
* *V. bogerti* (Bogert's monitor)
* *V. keithhornei*
* *V. kordensis*
* *V. macraei*
* *V. prasinus*
* *V. reisingeri*
* *V. telenesetes*

Subgenus *Odatria*:

* *V. acanthurus*
	+ *V. a. acanthurus*
	+ *V. a. brachyurus*
	+ *V. a. insulanicus*
* *V. auffenbergi*
* *V. baritji*
* *V. brevicauda*
* *V. bushi*
* *V. caudolineatus*
* *V. eremius*
	+ *V. gilleni*
* *V. glauerti*
* *V. glebopalma*
* *V. hamersleyensis*
* *V. kingorum*
* *V. mitchelli*
* *V. pilbarensis*
* *V. primordius*
* *V. scalaris*
* *V. semiremex*
* *V. similis*
* *V. sparnus*
* *V. storri*
	+ *V. s. storri*
	+ *V. s. ocreatus*
* *V. timorensis*
* *V. tristis*
* *V. t. tristis*
* *V. t. orientalis*

Subgenus *Papusaurus*:

* *V. salvadorii*

Subgenus *Philippinosaurus*:

* *V. bitatawa*
* *V. mabitang*
* *V. olivaceus*

Subgenus *Polydaedalus*:

* *V. albigularis*
	+ *V. a. albigularis*
	+ *V. a. angolensis*
	+ *V. a. microstictus*
* *V. exanthematicus*
* *V. niloticus*
* *V. stellatus*
* *V. ornatus*
* *V. yemenensis*

Subgenus *Psammosaurus*:

* *V. griseus*
	+ *V. g. griseus*
	+ *V. g. caspius*
	+ *V. g. koniecznyi*
* *V. nesterovi*

Subgenus *Solomonsaurus*:

* *V. spinulosus*

Subgenus *Soterosaurus*:

* *V. bangonorum*
* *V. cumingi*
* *V. dalubhasa*
* *V. marmoratus*
* *V. nuchalis*
* *V. palawanensis*
* *V. rasmusseni*
* *V. salvator*
	+ *V. s. salvator*
	+ *V. s. andamanensis*
	+ *V. s. bivittatus*
	+ *V. s. macromaculatus*
	+ *V. s. ziegleri*
* *V. samarensis*
* *V. togianus*

Subgenus "*Varaneades*" (junior synonym):

* †*V. marathonensis*

Subgenus *Varanus*:

* *V. giganteus*
* *V. gouldii*
* *V. mertensi*
* *V. panoptes*
* *V. p. panoptes*
* *V. p. horni*
* *V. p. rubidus*
* *†V. priscus*
* *V. rosenbergi*
* *V. spenceri*
* *V. varius*
* *V. komodoensis* (Komodo dragon)

## Notable Specimens

* SNSB-BSPG 1956 II 2010.
* MN 4.
1/2
* SNSB-BSPG 1956 II 2010: A large, elongate trunk vertebra with a procoelous centrum and the anterior of the left lateral surface coated in hard sandstone, left as to not samage the specimen. It is from the Miocene of Siwaliks, Pakistan and was assigned *V. sp.* in 2022.
* MN 4: Two isolated teeth discovered from the Early Miocene of Hüenerbach. It was tentatively assigned to this genus in 2023, making it the earliest in Europe.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor\_lizard
2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t\_sFlHFgcFY&ab\_channel=NORTH02
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s00015-023-00440-5
4. ↑ https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/geodiversitas/44/7