The Blue Tailed Monitor is a species of Monitor lizard that is native to New Guinea and other surrounding islands. They can also be found in a small region of mainland Australia.
These lizards can grow to around 4ft in length including the tail. Some of their other common names include the Blue Tailed Tree Monitor and the Kalabeck’s Monitor.
Blue Tailed Monitor Taxonomy
The Blue Tailed 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 Blue Tailed 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 Asian Water Monitor.
The genus name, Varanus is derived from the Arabic word ‘waral’ which simply translates into Monitor.
They belong to the sub-genus Euprepiosautus which also contains their close relatives, the Mangrove Monitor and the Peach Throat Monitor.
The scientific name for this species is Varanus doreanus. The Finsch’s Monitor was once considered a sub-species of this monitor but has since been elevated to full species status.
Blue Tailed Monitor Description
The Blue Tailed Monitor is a medium sized species of Monitor that grows to around 4ft in length, including their tail. Their snout to vent length is roughly have of that.
They have a grey background color but this can sometimes have a blueish hue to it. They have yellow spots and patterning all over their body which can give them a speckled appearance.
As their name suggests, they have a blue tail. This can vary greatly in intensity between individuals. They grey background color usually breaks through in patches along the tail also.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Blue Tailed Monitor is native to the island of New Guinea. This large island is divided into three separate regions, West Papua, Papua and Papua New Guinea.
West Papua and Papua are both provinces of Indonesia. West Papua is made up of the two Western peninsulas of the island while Papua is made up of the rest of the Western half of the island.
Papua New Guinea is an independent country and is made up of the Eastern half of the island. The Blue Tailed Monitor can be found in all three of these regions.
As well as New Guinea, this monitor can be found on a number of surrounding islands including the Bismarck Archipelago, Biak and Salawati.
They can also be found in a small region of mainland Australia. In Australia, they can be found on the tip of the Cape York peninsula in Queensland.
These lizards can be found in a number of different habitats including the edges of rainforests, open forests, riverbanks and around fallen or cut trees.
They live in a part of the world that has a huge diversity of different reptile species. They share part of their geographic distribution with a wide range of other reptiles such as the Bismarck Ringed Python, Amethystine Python, Blue Tongue Skink, Boelen’s Python, Crocodile Monitor, Emerald Tree Monitor, Mourning Gecko and the Pink Bellied Side Neck Turtle. However, some of these reptiles may have different habitat niches.
Behaviour
The Blue Tailed Monitor is a territorial species and males will fight over females and territory. Fights consist of standing on their hind legs while grappling and biting each other.
Juveniles are known to be semi-arboreal and will often climb trees in search of food, for security or for shelter.
Adults will spend most of their time on the ground but have the ability to climb. They are great swimmers and will usually be found close to a source of water.
Blue Tailed Monitor Diet
They are known to eat a variety of different prey. They will often eat small mammals and rodents. They are known to eat a larger proportion of birds in comparison to other Monitors.
These lizards are opportunistic feeders and will eat a variety of other prey including frogs, fish and molluscs. Juveniles will eat a large number of invertebrates.