The White Throat Monitor is a large species of Monitor lizard that is native to parts of Southern Africa.
It is considered a sub-species of Rock Monitor which is regarded as the heaviest bodied and second longest species of lizard in Africa.
White Throat Monitor Taxonomy
The White Throat 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 White Throat 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 the Asian Water Monitor.
The genus name, Varanus is derived from the Arabic word ‘waral’ which simply translates into Monitor.
It is the nominate sub-species of Rock Monitor (Varanus albigularis) and its scientific name is Varanus albigularis albigularis.
There are 3 other recognised sub-species, the Angolan White Throat Monitor, the Eastern White Throat Monitor and the Black Throat Monitor.
White Throat Monitor Description
This is a large species of lizard that can grow to over 2 metres in length including the tail. They are the second longest species of lizard in Africa after the Nile Monitor.
They are a heavy bodied lizard with adults weighing around 25 pounds or 11kg. They have a long, strong tail that they use for swimming. It is also used as a defensive weapon if they feel threatened.
They typically have a grey or light brown base color with darker shades of brown forming a pattern along their body.
Their tail consists of a series of light and dark bands that start behind the legs and run all the way to the tip of the tail.
They have a dark marking behind their eye that runs right down its neck, finishing above the lizard’s front legs. This is somewhat similar to the markings on a Boa Constrictor but much longer.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The White Throat Monitor is native to parts of Southern Africa. It can be found in a number of different countries in the region.
They can be found on the South-East coast of South Africa. From here, their range extends as far North as parts of Zambia.
Their distribution extends through countries such as Eswatini, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana.
Their range doesn’t extend as far North in the Western part of their range but they can be found throughout Namibia and potentially in parts of Southern Angola.
They live in a variety of different habitats including the deserts, savannahs and semi-arid regions of Southern Africa.
They share part of their range with species such as the Mozambique Spitting Cobra, the Armadillo Lizard, the Leopard Tortoise, the Orange Baboon Tarantula and the Pygmy Chameleon.
White Throat Monitor Behaviour
The White Throat Monitor is a diurnal species meaning they are mainly active during the day and sleep during the night.
Like many other Monitors, they are extremely intelligent animals that have the ability to ‘learn’. A number of experiments were conducted by John Phillips at the San Diego Zoo which proved their intelligence and ability to learn.
One of the tests involved offering the lizards a defined number of food items for a period of time. This number was then reduced and the lizards appeared restless until they received their additional items. This indicates that the lizards have an ability to ‘count’ and learn.