Temporal range: Late Cretaceous – Holocene, 80–0 Ma
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Male Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis) fighting, Indonesia
Fossil of Saniwa, an extinct varanid known from the Eocene of North America
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Superfamily:
Varanoidea
Family:
Varanidae Merrem, 1820
Genera
†Ovoo
†Telmasaurus
†Aiolosaurus
†Saniwides
†Paravaranus
†Proplatynotia
†Archaeovaranus
†Saniwa
Varanus
The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea and order Anguimorpha. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous lizards,[1] includes the living genus Varanus and a number of extinct genera more closely related to Varanus than to the earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus).[2]Varanus includes the Komodo dragon (the largest living lizard), crocodile monitor, savannah monitor, the goannas of Australia and Southeast Asia, and various other species with a similarly distinctive appearance. Their closest living relatives are the earless monitor lizard and Chinese crocodile lizard.[3] The oldest members of the family are known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.[2]
^Welton LJ, Siler CD, Bennett D, Diesmos A, Duya MR, Dugay R, et al. (October 2010). "A spectacular new Philippine monitor lizard reveals a hidden biogeographic boundary and a novel flagship species for conservation". Biology Letters. 6 (5): 654–658. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2010.0119. PMC 2936141. PMID 20375042.
^ abDong L, Wang YQ, Zhao Q, Vasilyan D, Wang Y, Evans SE (March 2022). "A new stem-varanid lizard (Reptilia, Squamata) from the early Eocene of China". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 377 (1847): 20210041. doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0041. PMC 8819366. PMID 35125002.
^Fry BG, Vidal N, Norman JA, Vonk FJ, Scheib H, Ramjan SF, et al. (February 2006). "Early evolution of the venom system in lizards and snakes". Nature. 439 (7076): 584–588. Bibcode:2006Natur.439..584F. doi:10.1038/nature04328. PMID 16292255. S2CID 4386245.
The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea and order Anguimorpha. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous 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...
attempted to establish the phylogenetic position of megalania within the Varanidae. An affinity with the perentie (Varanus giganteus), Australia's largest...
length of up to 36 cm (14 in), while the largest species in the family Varanidae, Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), has a length up to 3 metres (10 ft)...
Laurenti in 1768 when he described a water monitor specimen. The family Varanidae contains nearly 80 species of monitor lizards, all of which belong to...
It is only found on a single island of off the coast of Singapore. The Varanidae are a family of carnivorous and frugivorous monitor lizards, which contains...
Varanus nesterovi, Nesterov’s desert monitor, is a species of lizard of the Varanidae family. It is found on the Iraq-Iran border. Varanus nesterovi at the...
known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and...
reisingeri (Misool Island) and V. telenesetes (Rossel Island). The family Varanidae probably originated in Asia about 65 million years ago, although some...
monitor, is a species of large Australian monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. John Edward Gray described the species in 1838 as Hydrosaurus gouldii...
9 ft). Palaeosaniwa was roughly comparable to a large monitor lizard (Varanidae) in size. Measuring around 3–3.5 m (9.8–11.5 ft) in length, it is among...
monitor (Varanus niloticus) is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in drier regions...
Bangon monitor (Varanus bangonorum) is a species of lizard of the Varanidae family. It is found in the Philippines. Cielo, K.L.S.; Gaulke, M. (9 December...
palawanensis) is a quite large species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to the Philippines. Varanus palawanensis can reach...
Varanus samarensis, the Samar water monitor, is a species of lizard of Varanidae family. It is found in the Philippines. Varanus samarensis at the Reptarium...
river conduits: phylogeographical structure in a large, mobile lizard (Varanidae: Varanus varius) from eastern Australia". Journal of Biogeography. 40...
scales, with a lack of distinct mandibular bar patterns prevalent in other Varanidae, something observed only in this species. This species also possesses...
Böhme, W. (2003). "Checklist of the living lizards of the world (family Varanidae)" (PDF). Zoologische Verhandelingen. 341: 4–43. Auffenberg (1994):24 Auffenberg...
This is a list of reptiles which are found in the U.S. state of Florida. This list includes both native and introduced species. Introduced species are...
the Mariana monitor or Saipan monitor, is a species of lizard of the Varanidae family. It is endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, and has...
This is a list of reptiles of Sri Lanka. The reptilian diversity in Sri Lanka is higher than the diversity of other vertebrates such as mammals and fish...
This list of reptiles of Morocco is an incomplete collection of reptiles found in Morocco. [e] Endemic species [i] Introduced species Rhodin, Anders G...
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...
Varanus douarrha, the New Ireland monitor, is a species of lizard of the Varanidae family. It is found on New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. Varanus douarrha...
monitor (Varanus albigularis) is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, where, on average it is...
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