Varanus albigularis
Encyclopedia
The rock monitor also called the legavaan or white-throated monitor, is a species of monitor lizard
found in southern Africa
. It is the second longest lizard found on the continent of Africa and the heaviest bodied.
in 1802, these lizards were previously classified as a subspecies of Varanus exanthematicus
, but have since been declared a distinct species based upon differences in hemipenal
morphology
. The generic
name Varanus is derived from the Arabic word waral ورل, which is translated to English as "monitor". Their specific
name comes from a compound of two Latin
words: albus meaning "white" and gula meaning "throat".
There are four subspecies
.
is longer) in Africa, they reach 2 metre in length, with the tail and body being of equal size. The head and neck are the same length, and are distinct from each other. Their bulbous, convex snouts give an angular, box-like appearance. Their forked tongues are pink or bluish, and their scales are usually a mottled gray-brown with yellowish or white markings.
in 1999. Philips offered varying numbers of snail
s, and the monitors were able to distinguish numbers whenever one was missing.
, Botswana
, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland
, Zimbabwe
, Mozambique
, Zambia
, Angola
, Tanzania
, Ethiopia
, Somalia
, Kenya
, Uganda
, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(Zaire
). It is found in a variety of dry habitats, including steppes, prairies and savannahs, but are absent from desert interiors, rainforests and thick scrub forests.
have been injecting themselves with the blood
of rock monitors, which they believe to be a cure for the virus. Most are discontinuing anti-retroviral therapy to pursue this anecdotal treatment. As a result, V. albigularis is reported to have become an expensive item in the Ugandan black market, selling for more than US$175 each.
Monitor lizard
Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
found in southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is the second longest lizard found on the continent of Africa and the heaviest bodied.
Taxonomy
First described by François Marie DaudinFrançois Marie Daudin
François Marie Daudin was a French zoologist.With legs paralyzed by childhood disease, he studied of physics and natural history, but ended up being devoted to the latter.Daudin wrote in 1799–1800...
in 1802, these lizards were previously classified as a subspecies of Varanus exanthematicus
Savannah monitor
The savanna monitor is a species of monitor lizard native to Africa. The species is known as Bosc's monitor in Europe, since French scientist Louis Bosc first described the species...
, but have since been declared a distinct species based upon differences in hemipenal
Hemipenis
A hemipenis is one of a pair of intromittent organs of male squamates .Hemipenes are usually held inverted, within the body, and are everted for reproduction via erectile tissue, much like that in the human penis. Only one is used at a time, and some evidence indicates males alternate use between...
morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
. The generic
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
name Varanus is derived from the Arabic word waral ورل, which is translated to English as "monitor". Their specific
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
name comes from a compound of two Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
words: albus meaning "white" and gula meaning "throat".
There are four subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
.
- White-throated monitor, Varanus albigularis albigularisVaranus albigularis albigularisThe white-throated monitor is a lizard found in southern Africa. They are usually gray-brown with yellowish or white markings, and can reach up to 2 meters in length....
- Angola white-throated monitor, Varanus albigularis angolensisVaranus albigularis angolensisThe Angolan white-throated monitor is a lizard found in Angola. They are usually gray-brown with yellowish or white markings and can reach up to 1.5 meters in length...
- Tanzanian white-throated monitor, Varanus albigularis microstictus
- Black-throated monitor, Varanus albigularis ionidesiVaranus albigularis ionidesiThe black-throated monitor is a monitor lizard native to Tanzania. They are usually a dark gray-brown with yellowish or white markings, and can reach up to seven feet long and weigh more than sixty pounds...
Description
The heaviest bodied and second longest lizard (the Nile monitorNile monitor
The Nile Monitor, Water Leguaan, or River Leguaan is a large member of the monitor lizard family ....
is longer) in Africa, they reach 2 metre in length, with the tail and body being of equal size. The head and neck are the same length, and are distinct from each other. Their bulbous, convex snouts give an angular, box-like appearance. Their forked tongues are pink or bluish, and their scales are usually a mottled gray-brown with yellowish or white markings.
Intelligence
An intelligent lizard, several specimens have demonstrated the ability to count as high as six in an experiment conducted by Dr. John Philips at the San Diego ZooSan Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
in 1999. Philips offered varying numbers of snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, and the monitors were able to distinguish numbers whenever one was missing.
Distribution
This monitor ranges throughout the following countries: NamibiaNamibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
). It is found in a variety of dry habitats, including steppes, prairies and savannahs, but are absent from desert interiors, rainforests and thick scrub forests.
Folklore
People living with the HIV/AIDS virus in Yumbe district of UgandaUganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
have been injecting themselves with the blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
of rock monitors, which they believe to be a cure for the virus. Most are discontinuing anti-retroviral therapy to pursue this anecdotal treatment. As a result, V. albigularis is reported to have become an expensive item in the Ugandan black market, selling for more than US$175 each.
Further reading
- Photo of Varanus albigularis
- (1992). The Necropsy and internal Anatomy of a white-throated monitor lizard (Varanus albigularis Daudin, 1802). VaraNews 2(1): 5-6.