Savannah monitor
The savannah monitor (or Bosc's monitor) is a medium-sized monitor lizard from Africa. Its scientific name is Varanus exanthematicus.
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Its range extends throughout sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal east to Sudan and south almost to the Congo River and Great Rift Valley.[1] It is a ground-dwelling species which shelters in burrows, although it is sometimes found in bushes or low trees.[2]
Information about the diet of Savannah monitors in the wild has been recorded in Senegal [3] and Ghana.[1][4] It feeds almost exclusively on arthropods and molluscs.
Savannah Monitor Media
Varanus exanthematicus skull (cropped)
Graph showing bite force of the savannah monitor while feeding
Captive savannah monitor, wearing a reptile harness
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bennett, Daniel. Varanoid Lizards of the World (2004)Indiana University Press. p. 95–103. ISBN 0-253-34366-6.
- ↑ Bennett, Daniel. The Savannah monitor, the truth about Varanus exanthematicus' (2003). UK: Viper Press. p. 84. ISBN 0-9526632-9-5.
- ↑ Cisse, M. L'alimentaire des Varanides au Senegal. Bulletin l'Institute Fond. Afr. Noire 34 (1972). p. 503–515.
- ↑ Bennett, Daniel. Preliminary data on the diet of juvenile Varanus exanthematicus in the coastal plain of Ghana. Herpetological Journal 10 (2000). p. 75–76.