XII VARAN IDAE 543 



covered with very small juxtaposed scales and tubercles above, 

 while the ventral scales are squarish and arranged in transverse 

 rows. Osteoderms are entirely absent. The tail is very long, 

 often laterally compressed. The teeth are large and pointed, 

 dilated at the base. The premaxilla is unpaired and dorsally 

 extends backwards to the likewise unpaired nasal. There is a 

 pair of small supra-orbital bones, easily lost during maceration. 

 The orbit is open behind, the jugal being short and not meet- 

 ing the postfrontal ; the postorbital forms a slender arch with 

 the supratemporal. The vomers are long and diverge posteriorly. 

 The palatines, pterygoids, 

 and ectopterygoids enclose 

 on either side an oval 



infra - orbital foramen. 



The Varanidae contain 



only one genus, Varanus, 



with nearly thirty species 



in Africa, Southern Asia, 



and Australia, but not in 



Madagascar. '^''^^ 



° rni Fig. 139.— Map showing the distribution 



faranus. — ihe name of the Varanidae. 



of " Monitor " bestowed 



upon these creatures has a curious origin, owing to a ridiculous 

 etymological mistake. The Arabic term for Lizard is " Ouaran " ; 

 this has been wrongly taken to mean warning lizard, hence the 

 Latin Monitor, one of the many synonyms of this genus,^ e.g. 

 Mydrosaurus and Psammosaurus. Many of the " Monitors " are 

 semi-aquatic, others inhabit dry, sandy districts, while others are 

 at home in well-wooded localities. They are all rapacious, taking 

 whatever animals they can master according to their size, which 

 in some species amounts to 6 or 7 feet. 



V. niloticus inhabits the whole of Africa, except the north- 

 western part. It reaches a length of more than 5 feet. The colour 

 of the adult is brownish or greenish grey above, with darker reticu- 

 lations and yellowish ocellated spots on the back and limbs. The 

 under parts are yeUowish with blackish cross-bands. The ground- 

 colour of the young is black above with yellow lines on the 

 head and neck, and with yellow spots on the back and limbs ; the 

 tail has black and yellow bars. 



V. salvator ranges from Nepal to Ceylon, Cape York, and 



