Whitethroated Monitor
Name
White-throated Monitor [Varanus albigularis albigularis]
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Varanidae
Subspecies
White-throated Monitor [V. a. albigularis], Angola White-throated Monitor [V. a. angolensis], Eastern White-throated Monitor [V. a. microstictu]
Length_F
400 - 500 mm
Length_M
400 - 500 mm
Description
The White-throated Monitor is a very large, stout lizard with strong, stocky limbs and sharp claws. The head has a bulbous snout, with slit-like nostrils nearer to the eyes than to the end of the snout. The back is dark grey-brown above, with 5 - 6 pale yellow dark-edged blotches.
Distribution
Throughout the savanna and semi-desert regions of the sub-continent, but absent from Western Cape. Elsewhere, to the savannas of East Africa.
Breeding
In early summer from 8 - 51 eggs are laid, depending on the size of the female. The eggs hatch in 110 - 120 days in captivity, but take much longer in the wild.
Diet
The diet consist mainly of millipedes, beetles, grasshoppers and land snails.
