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485 Featured Specimen
Asian water monitor

Details

Asian water monitor

Varanus salvator

Size
Total length 1–3 m · 8–25 kg
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Solitary
Lifespan
10–20 years

The Asian water monitor is a large monitor lizard of South and Southeast Asian waterways. It swims well and may even live along urban canals.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
IndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayanIndomalayan

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It inhabits Indomalayan freshwater, coasts, forests, and urban edges. Rivers, wetlands, mangroves, ponds, and canals are common habitats.

Appearance

Total length 100-300 cm; weight 8-25 kg. The long tail is laterally flattened for swimming. A dark body with pale spots or bands and strong limbs gives it a powerful build.

Behavior

Diurnal and solitary, it swims, basks, and patrols shorelines. When threatened it often escapes into water.

Feeding

A carnivore, it eats fish, crabs, birds, eggs, small mammals, and carrion. A forked tongue and keen smell help locate food.

Reproduction

Females lay eggs in soil, rotting vegetation, or termite mounds. Young use trees and waterside cover as they grow.

Notes

It is listed as Least Concern. It adapts to human landscapes, though capture, skin trade, and urban conflict occur locally.