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Salvadori's monitor, Crocodile monitor, Papua(n) monitor or Artellia
Varanus salvadorii
48.1975, 16.353
Field Notes
Description:
The largest monitor lizard in New Guinea, it is believed to be one of the longest lizards in the world, reaching up to 244 cm. 2/3 of it's length belongs to the tail. It feeds on birds, small mammals, eggs, and carrion in the wild, using teeth that are better adapted than those of most monitors for seizing fast-moving prey. (Wikipedia)
Habitat:
Aqua Terra Zoo Vienna;
In the Wilde: It lives in mangrove swamps and coastal rain forests in the southeastern part of the New Guinea.
Notes:
V. salvadorii is threatened by deforestation and poaching, and is protected by the CITES agreement. The lizard is hunted and skinned alive by tribesmen to make drums, who describe the monitor as an evil spirit that "climbs trees, walks upright, breathes fire, and kills men"; yet the tribesman maintain that the monitor gives warnings if there are crocodiles nearby. (Wikipedia)
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