The Savannah Monitor is a medium sized species of Monitor that typically grows to around 3 feet in length.
Also known as the Bosc’s Monitor, these lizards are native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. However, their distribution doesn’t extend below the equator.
Savannah Monitor Taxonomy
The Savannah Monitor belongs to the Varanidae family of lizards. This family contains only one genus of living lizards. There are two extinct genera associated with this family, Ovoo and Saniwa.
The remaining genus, and the genus that the Savannah Monitor belongs to is called Varanus. This is essentially the genus of Monitor Lizards, which are native to Africa, Asia and Oceania.
The closest living relatives to the lizards in the Varanus genus are the species in the anguid and helodermatid genera.
The lizards in the anguid genus are native to the Northern Hemisphere and include the glass lizards and the alligator lizards.
There are only 5 species of lizards in the helodermatid genus and they are all venomous. This family includes the Gila Monster.
Monitors are a large genus of lizard that contains over 80 different species at the time of writing. However, many species and sub-species are constantly being disputed so the exact number will change from time to time.
The group of Monitor lizards include some of the largest species of lizards in the world such as the Komodo Dragon and Nile Monitor.
The genus name, Varanus is derived from the Arabic word ‘waral’ which simply translates into Monitor.
The scientific name for the Savannah Monitor is Varanus exanthematicus. They were first described by Louis Bosc in 1792 and as a result are known as the Bosc’s Monitor in Europe.
Savannah Monitor Description
The Savannah Monitor is a medium sized lizard that typically grows to around 3 feet in length, including the tail. They rarely exceed 1 metre.
They are stocky in appearance and have a thick head. Their neck is also quite thick and relatively short for a monitor.
The coloration of these lizards can vary greatly. Their base color can range from light grey to brown or light yellowish.
They have symmetrical rows of circular yellow spots that usually have a darker colored outline.
Their belly is lighter in color that the rest of the lizard and can vary from yellowish to light grey or brown. This coloration extends to the inside of the lizard’s legs.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Savannah Monitor is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa but their range doesn’t extend as far South as the Equator.
They can be found along the West Coast in countries such as Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Their range extends inwards through countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.
They can also be found in Cameroon, Chad and as far East as Sudan. There are also reports of the Savannah Monitor in the Northern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
They share some of their range with species such as the African Fire Skink, the Sulcata Tortoise and the Egg Eater Snake.
Savannah Monitor Diet
In the wild, the Savannah Monitor will eat a varied diet but the bulk of it is made up of things like arthropods and molluscs.
They are particularly fond of certain types of millipedes found within their range known as Julus. They are also known to eat a large quantity of African Crickets.
They will consume a variety of other prey items including scorpions, amphibians and snails.
They have even adapted and evolved to eat poisonous millipedes. They rub their chin on the millipede for up to fifteen minutes so that it will excrete its toxins. Once the millipede runs out of toxins, the lizard will then eat it.
Behaviour
These lizards spend most of their time on the ground but they are also excellent climbers and will often climb low lying trees and branches.
They are good diggers and will sometimes dig burrows for security. They are also known to take over abandoned mammal burrows or utilise hollow sections of trees.
Males can be very territorial and will aggressively defend their territory. They do this by hissing loudly, slapping their tail and inflating their throat. If this doesn’t work, they will fight, often causing serious injury.