REPTILIA: SQUAMATA: VARANIDAE: Varanus

Varanus salvadorii Peters & Doria, 1878

Tree crocodile monitor

Photos & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.

Range: Lowland forests of New Guinea, especially near water.

Diagnosis: A large monitor characterized by a bulbous snout, round or oval nostrils that are nearer the snout tip than eye, a yellow tongue, round tail, and tail more than twice the snout-vent length.  

Description: The body is fairly short and oval, but can be distended into an almost flat circle. Though many accounts suggest or claim that this is the world's longest lizard, the largest verified specimen was about 8 feet overall (and thus, for now, the forth longest known monitor).

Natural History: Despite its great size, tree crocodiles are arboreal and typically found in the forest canopy. Though large, the short body is lithe and these lizards can move with great skill and alacrity. 

Tree crocodiles get their name in reference to their bite. Unlike other monitors that have curved teeth for holding prey, this species has interdigitating, flat, serrated teeth that slice flesh and tear chunks of meat with each bite. 

They have been collected across much of lowland New Guinea, especially in swampy areas or regions where rivers are common.

The beautiful, possibly fanciful painting of a tree crocodile monitor chasing a Papuan naked-tailed rat. 
©1993 Carel P. Brest Van Kempen.

Reproduction:

Taxonomy & Relationships: This species has been placed by itself in the subgenus, Papusaurus. The relationships of Papusaurus to other monitors is unclear.

Variation:

Additional Comments: Tree crocodile monitors have been subject to persistent rumors at least as long ago as the 1930s. At that time members of the American Museum of Natural History's Archbold Expedition were being told of a man-eating giant, which became dubbed "The Papuan Dragon." More recent reports claim that the monitors ma grow to 16,18, even 40 feet long. While we generally discount the extreme sizes, a 12-16 foot monitor would not be all that surprising. However, the largest verified tree crocodile monitor measured a bit under 9 feet, despite the claims in the newspaper account reproduced here. I have checked with the team leader from the expedition mentioned, who related that they measured one specimen at 7 feet 3 inches, but were told by villagers of a 18-foot lizard lurking nearby. To date, the official longest living lizard remains the Komodo dragon.

For additional illustrations, click here.

Type Specimen: Genoa

 Literature: click on book to order.

Eidenmüller, Bernd. 1997. Warane: Lebensweise, Pflege, Zucht. Herpeton, Offenbach. In German. ISBN: 3-9802892-7-3. 

Sprackland, Robert. 1992. Giant Lizards. TFH Publications. ISBN: 0-86622-634-6.