OzAnimals.com
Australian Wildlife

  Yellow Spotted Monitor (Varanus panoptes)





Yellow Spotted Monitor | Varanus panoptes photo
Argus monitor lizard (Varanus panoptes) at the New England Aquarium, Boston MA.

Image by Steven G. Johnson - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







REPTILE FACTS

Description
A large goanna. Mottled greyish or brown, with rows of yellow or greenish spots. Tip of tail yellow, banded with brown.

One of northern Australia’s largest predators, this species was formerly common, but has been decimated by Cane Toads. Biting a toad is sufficient to kill an adult. It forages actively, consuming smaller animals and carrion, and digging up the eggs of turtles and crocodiles. It often raises itself onto its hind legs to attain a better view of its surroundings or to deter a predator. It resides in a burrow, where it will retreat to inactivity through the low food availability of the late dry season. It lays up to 13 eggs in the wet season, which take a minimum of 7 months to hatch. In the past, this species was one of the favourite foods of northern Australian Aboriginal peoples.

Author credit: Lindley McKay

Other Names
Argus monitor

Habitat
Tropical to semi-arid woodlands, particularly around floodplains and waterways.

Food
Carnivore

Range
Northern Australia.

distribution map showing range of Varanus panoptes in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata (Sauria)
Family:Varanidae
Genus:Varanus
Species:panoptes
Common Name:Yellow Spotted Monitor

Relatives in same Genus
  Ridge-tailed Monitor (V. acanthurus)
  Stripe-tailed Monitor (V. caudolineatus)
  Perentie (V. giganteus)
  Pygmy Mulga Monitor (V. gilleni)
  Kimberley Rock Monitor (V. glauerti)
  Gould's Monitor (V. gouldii)
  Mangrove Monitor (V. indicus)
  Pygmy Rock Monitor (V. kingorum)
  Mertens' Water Monitor (V. mertensi)
  Emerald Tree Monitor (V. prasinus)
  Heath Monitor (V. rosenbergii)
  Spencer's Monitor (V. spenceri)
  Storr's Monitor (V. storri)
  Spotted Tree Monitor (V. timorensis)
  Black-headed Monitor (V. tristis)
  Lace Monitor / Goanna (V. varius)