Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus Varanus, the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recognized.
The sand goanna, also known commonly as Gould's monitor, the racehorse goanna, and the sand monitor, is a species of large Australian monitor lizard in the family Varanidae.
The black tree monitor or Beccari's monitor is a species of lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is a relatively small member of the family, growing to about 90–120 cm (35–47 in) in total length. V. beccarii is endemic to the Aru Islands off New Guinea, living in an arboreal habitat. The skin color of adults is completely black, to which one common name refers.
The mangrove monitor, mangrove goanna, or Western Pacific monitor lizard is a member of the monitor lizard family with a large distribution from northern Australia and New Guinea to the Moluccas and Solomon Islands. It grows to lengths of 3.5 to 4 ft.
The emerald tree monitor or green tree monitor, is a small to medium-sized arboreal monitor lizard. It is known for its unusual coloration, which consists of shades from green to turquoise, topped with dark, transversedorsal banding. This coloration helps camouflage it in its arboreal habitat. Its color also makes the emerald tree monitor highly prized in both the pet trade and zoos alike.
The yellow-spotted monitor, also known as the Argus monitor, is a monitor lizard found in northern and western regions of Australia and southern New Guinea.
The golden-spotted tree monitor, also known commonly as the golden speckled tree monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Waigeo Island in Indonesia.
The peach-throated monitor, also known commonly as the Sepik monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to New Guinea.
The Pilbara monitor, also known commonly as Bush's monitor, Bush's pygmy monitor, and the Pilbara mulga goanna, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
The Rosenberg's monitor is an Australian species of varanid reptile found in southern regions of the continent. They are large and fast predators with rugged bodies and long tails, having a combined length up to 1.5 metres, that will consume any smaller animal that is pursued and captured or found while foraging. They occur in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, where it may be rare or locally common, and more frequently observed in Western Australia, where it is sometimes abundant.
The turquoise monitor is a species of monitor lizards found in Indonesia. Specifically, it is found on Halmahera Island and in the Maluku Islands.
The Ceram mangrove monitor is a species of monitor lizards found in Indonesia. Specifically, it is found on some of the central Moluccan Islands including: Ambon, Seram, Obi, Buru, and Banda. On Ambon and probably on New Guinea V. cerambonensis occurs sympatrically with Varanus indicus. It is in the indicus species group of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus.
The blue-tailed monitor, blue-tailed tree monitor or Kalabeck's monitor, is a monitor lizard of the Varanidae family. It belongs to the V. doreanus group of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus.
Finsch's monitor is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to New Guinea and Australia.
The Rennell Island monitor is a species of monitor lizards found in the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is also known as the Hakoi Monitor. It belongs to the subgenus Euprepiosaurus along with the canopy goanna, the peach-throated monitor, Kalabeck's monitor, and others.
Mitchell's water monitor is a semiaquatic species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to Australia. The species is native to the Northern regions of Australia, and is on IUCN's Red List as a critically endangered species. They can be distinguished by the orange or yellow stripes along their neck and dark spots along their back. They are mainly carnivorous, and eat small prey such as lizard, birds, and insects.
Varanus macraei, the blue-spotted tree monitor or blue tree monitor, is a species of monitor lizard found on the island of Batanta in Indonesia. It is named after herpetologist Duncan R. MacRae, founder of the reptile park Rimba on Bali.
Varanus reisingeri, known commonly as Reisinger's tree monitor and the Yellow tree monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Indonesia. It was at one point at least considered an allopatric insular subspecies of the green tree monitor, due to physical and genetic similarities.
Bogert's monitor is a species of tree-dwelling lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is native to Papua New Guinea.
Hapturosaurus, sometimes known as the tree monitors, is a subgenus of lizards, consisting of slender-bodied arboreal monitor lizards mostly found in the tropical rainforests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
