Varanus

Varanus, commonly known as true monitors, is one of the 11 subgenera of the genus Varanus. All of its species are found in the Australasian realm, among which are the world's largest lizards.

Varanus

Bloopityboop · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
VaranidaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Varanidae
Life habit
scansorialPBDB, for Varanidae
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Varanidae

Time the record covers

At least 33 million years on record.

The record covers at least 33.9 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 56 Mya to 0 Mya.

Paleocene — about 0 of 150 occurrencesEocene — about 2 of 150 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 4 of 150 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 60 of 150 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 13 of 150 occurrencesPleistocene — about 49 of 150 occurrences57–55 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences55–53 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences53–51 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences51–50 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences50–48 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences48–46 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences46–44 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences44–42 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences42–40 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences40–38 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences38–36 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences36–34 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences34–32 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences32–30 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences30–29 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences29–27 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences25–23 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences23–21 Mya — about 1 occurrence21–19 Mya — about 3 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 4 occurrences17–15 Mya — about 9 occurrences15–13 Mya — about 8 occurrences13–11 Mya — about 10 occurrences11–9.5 Mya — about 6 occurrences9.5–7.6 Mya — about 9 occurrences7.6–5.7 Mya — about 9 occurrences5.7–3.8 Mya — about 11 occurrences3.8–1.9 Mya — about 12 occurrences1.9–0 Mya — about 63 occurrences33.9 Mya11.7 ka57 Mya0 Mya

150 occurrences of Varanus on record, most of them in the Miocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

150 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

35 formations

Nubia — 16.25°N, 33.75°EWyandotte — 18.77°S, 144.85°EKanapoi — 2.37°N, 36.08°EJebel Qatrani — 29.45°N, 30.58°ECarl Creek Limestone — 19.08°S, 138.72°EKapthurin — 0.50°N, 36.00°ENachukui — 4.27°N, 35.82°ESterkfontein — 26.02°S, 27.73°ENyabusosi — 1.00°N, 30.50°ENkondo — 1.50°N, 31.00°EXiacaowan — 33.45°N, 118.20°EMansar — 32.71°N, 74.85°EKiahera — 0.33°S, 34.10°EOlan Bula — 8.69°S, 121.13°ECórcoles — 40.47°N, 2.68°WMiocene Lower Continental Complex — 41.44°N, 2.00°EChitarwata — 30.08°N, 70.33°ENea Messimvria — 40.77°N, 22.79°ETriglia — 40.03°N, 23.47°EColombacci — 44.22°N, 11.77°ELefkon — 41.17°N, 23.50°EEldari — 41.44°N, 45.38°EMoghara — 30.38°N, 28.82°EKhurdkabul — 34.32°N, 69.42°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Varanus has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 11 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 109 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Varanus and its relatives

Miocene

Where Varanus and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,744 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 137 sites for Varanus, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

87 references

Each of the 150 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 75 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Varanus

Credit
Bloopityboop
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Varanus salvator · BRSUG:29376/7

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itVaranidae through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Merrem 1820