Skip to main content

White-Throated Monitor

Varanus albigularis albigularis
The White-Throated Monitor is a subspecies of Rock Monitor that lives in both open and wooded habitats in southern Africa. They have very muscular limbs, long bodies, and powerful tails. Their tails are so strong, in fact, that when the Monitors are threatened they will use them to lash out at attackers. They also puff up their bodies and hiss.

The subspecies is typically found on the ground, but they are able to climb trees as well. They head up to hunt and to avoid the animals that prey on them (like Honey Badgers). White-Throated Monitors are incredibly voracious eaters, especially during the wet season that falls between January and March. They will pretty much eat anything that they can easily capture, from small insects, to birds, to snakes. One really interesting fact is that the Monitors are very conscious of their caloric intake. They will try and eat animals that can give them the most benefit with the least amount of catching effort.

White-Throated Monitors are kept in captivity, but they are classified as threatened under CITES Appendix II. Habitat loss is the biggest threat, but they are also hunted for skin, meat, and for their use in local, traditional healing practices.
IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Southern Africa
Size : Length 6.6ft (2m)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Sauropsida -- Order : Squamata
Family : Varanidae -- Genus : Varanus -- Species : V. albigularis -- Subspcies : V. a. albigularis
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 20, 2011 at 12:42 AM

    will you post your sources, please?

    ReplyDelete
  2. LaurenDecember 20, 2011 at 8:12 AM

    For the most part, sources are linked to within the text. I typically grab the classification information from Wikispecies (http://species.wikimedia.org) and conservation status from the IUCN Red List.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2012 at 4:44 PM

    thanks so much!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more