- For the Australian species with a similar common name, see Mertens' Water Monitor
Mertens’ Water Monitor , often misspelled Merten’s Water Monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family found in northern Australia, and is a wide-ranging, active foraging, opportunistic predator of aquatic and riparian habitats. It is named after German herpetologist Robert...
.
The
Water monitor, (
Varanus salvator) is a large species of
monitor lizardMonitor 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...
capable of growing to 3.21 metres (10.5 ft) in length, with the average size of most adults at 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) long. Maximum weight of
Varanus salvator can be over 25 kilograms (55.1 lb), but most are half that size. Their body is muscular with a long, powerful, laterally compressed tail. Water monitors are one of the most common monitor lizards found throughout Asia, and range from
Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indochina, the
Malay PeninsulaThe Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
and various islands of
IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, living in areas close to water.
Etymology
The
genericIn 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
waral (ورل), which translates as "monitor" in English. The
specificIn 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 is the Latin word for "Saviour" denoting a possible religious connotation. The Water monitor is occasionally confused with the Crocodile monitor (
V. salvadorii) because of their similar scientific names.
In Thailand, the word water monitor or actually local word 'เหี้ย' (hia) is used as an insulting word for bad and evil things including a bad person. Its name is also considered a word bringing a bad luck, so some people prefer to call them 'ตัวเงินตัวทอง' which means 'silver and gold' in Thai to avoid the jinx.
The origin of this offensive meaning can be traced back to a time when more people lived in rural areas in close proximity to monitor lizards. Traditionally, Thai villagers lived in 2-story houses, the top floor was for living while the ground floor was designed to be a space for domestic animals such as pigs, chickens, and dogs. Water monitors would enter the ground floor and eat or maim the domestic animals, also hence the other name 'ตัวกินไก่' (Tua kin kai - chicken eater).
Subspecies of Varanus salvator
- Asian Water Monitor, Varanus salvator salvator the nominotypic 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...
is now restricted to Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
where it is known as the Kabaragoya in Sinhala, and Udumbu in TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
.
- Andaman Islands Water Monitor, Varanus salvator andamanensis: Andaman Islands; Type locality: Port Blair, Andaman Islands.
- Two-striped Water Monitor, Varanus salvator bivittatus: Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Ombai (Alor), Wetar and some neighbouring islands within the Sunda arch, Indonesia; Type locality: Java (designated by Mertens 1959).
- Black Water Monitor, Varanus salvator komaini:Thailand. Type locality: Amphoe La-ngu, Satun Prov., Thailand, and Thai-Malaysian border area. This was formerly a subspecies, but now regarded as a synonym of V. s. macromaculatus.
- Southeast Asian Water Monitor, Varanus salvator macromaculatus
The Southeast Asian Water Monitor is found in mainland southeast Asia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, and smaller associated offshore islands. Its type locality is Thailand.- Background :...
: Type locality: Siam (Thailand). Mainland Southeast Asia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo and smaller associated offshore islands.
Species of the Varanus salvator complex
The following species were once recognized as subspecies of
Varanus salvator but in 2007 were recognized as individual species in their own right.
- Varanus cumingi: Mindanao, Philippines; Type locality: Mindanao, Philippines. Mindanao, Philippines; Type locality: Mindanao, Philippines. It is also known as the Yellow-Headed Water Monitor because it has the highest degree of yellow coloration among all the endemic water monitor lizards in the Philippines, probably the world. It is mainly distributed in Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. It inhabits primary and secondary forests, and cultivated lands. Its diet is composed of rodents, birds, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates, including eggs and carrion.
- Varanus marmoratus: Islands of Luzon, Palawan, Calamian and Sulu archipelago, Philippines; Type locality: (restricted by Mertens 1942 to) San Mateo near Manila, Philippines.
- Varanus nuchalis: Philippines (Cebu, Ticao, Negros, Panay and Masbate, Philippines); Type locality: Philippines.
- Varanus togianus: Togian Islands, Sulawesi, Indonesia; Type locality: "Togian-Inseln (Timotto)" Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
Behavior and diet
Water monitors can be defensive, using their tail, claws, and jaws when fighting. They are excellent swimmers, using the raised fin located on their tails to steer through water. Water Monitors are carnivores, and have a wide range of foods. They are known to eat fish, frogs, rodents, birds, crabs, and snakes. They have also been known to eat turtles, as well as young crocodiles and crocodile eggs Like the
Komodo DragonThe Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
, they will often eat
carrionCarrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
.
Conservation
In
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, it is a
protected species under Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170. In Malaysia, this species is one of the most common wild animals around with numbers comparable to that of the population of macaques there. Although many fall prey to humans via road kill and animal cruelty, it still thrives in most states of Malaysia especially in the shrubs of the east-coast states such as
PahangPahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
and
TerengganuTerengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
. Malay "kampung" boys and young working class Malay men often catch and kill water monitors for their own amusement although the widespread population of the species causes the lack of conservation attention. In the east-coast states of Malaysia, this species is very common in roadkill. In
ThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, all monitor lizards are protected species.
External links