---
title: "What the sources say about the Asian Water Monitor | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "48 claims from the Asian Water Monitor profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Asian Water Monitor (*Varanus salvator*)

> 48 claims from the Asian Water Monitor profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Asian Water Monitor](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/asian-water-monitor/)

## Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Common Water Monitor (Varanus salvator). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ecological-Risk-Screening-Summary-Common-Water-Monitor.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A semi-aquatic lizard that can reach 2.5 m | A very large lizard that may reach a total length of 2.5 m (exceeding 8 ft) (note: tagline; scent and diet parts are claimed separately) |
| prey on any vertebrate it can overpower | preying upon invertebrates, carrion, human corpses and feces, and any vertebrate (including fish) it can overpower (note: tagline) |
| may reach a total length of 2.5 m, which is more than 8 ft | A very large lizard that may reach a total length of 2.5 m (exceeding 8 ft) |
| semi-aquatic | This species is semi-aquatic and opportunistic |
| Southern and Southeast Asia, near beaches, mangrove swamps, lakes, streams and rivers | This diurnal species prefers habitats in the vicinity of water which include beaches, mangrove swamps, peat swamps, lakes, streams and rivers (note: stats.habitat) |
| Insects, crabs, fish, freshwater turtles, birds and their eggs, rats, other lizards and carrion | The diet includes invertebrates (e.g. insects), fish, crabs, freshwater turtles, birds and their eggs, crocodiles, sea turtles, lizards, rats, as well as carrion (note: stats.diet) |
| Follows scent trails and can smell a rotten carcass from up to 100 m away | Individuals are able to follow a scent trail and scent a rotten carcass up to 100 m away. (note: stats.superpower) |
| can follow a scent trail and pick up a rotten carcass from up to 100 m away, a U.S. government risk summary reports | Individuals are able to follow a scent trail and scent a rotten carcass up to 100 m away. |
| Males are typically larger than females. | Males are typically larger than females. |
| living across southern and Southeast Asia, from eastern India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh through Thailand and Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines | including eastern India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, southern China |
| through Thailand and Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines | Peninsular and Eastern Malaysia |
| It prefers habitats near water: beaches, mangrove swamps, peat swamps, lakes, streams and rivers. | This diurnal species prefers habitats in the vicinity of water which include beaches, mangrove swamps, peat swamps, lakes, streams and rivers |
| It sleeps in burrows it digs itself and uses water and burrows to cool off in the heat of the day. | it overnights in self-constructed burrows and Treaeholt (1995a) noted that it uses water and burrows to lower body temperatures during the hottest periods of the day |
| Insects, crabs, fish, freshwater turtles, birds and their eggs, lizards and rats are on the menu | The diet includes invertebrates (e.g. insects), fish, crabs, freshwater turtles, birds and their eggs, crocodiles, sea turtles, lizards, rats, as well as carrion |
| Research has found that it will also scavenge food leftovers from residents and tourists. | Previous research has indicated that V. salvator has an extremely broad diet and will scavenge food leftovers from residents and tourists |
| A clutch holds 5 to 30 eggs, and incubation lasts 171 to 327 days. | Clutches comprise 5 to 30 eggs, and incubation lasts 171 to 327 days |
| Hatchlings are 250 to 390 mm long. | Hatchlings are 250- 390 mm long |
| In captivity the average lifespan is 10.6 years. | in captivity V. salvator have an average lifespan of 10.6 years |
| It is hunted mainly for its skin, used in the leather trade, as well as for its meat and its fat, used in traditional medicine. | It is mainly hunted because its skin is used in the leather trade, its meat is eaten, and its fat is used in traditional medicine. |
| A 1999 estimate put the trade at 1.5 million skins a year, though the skin trade has decreased slightly since the 1990s. | An estimated 1.5 million skins are traded annually (Herrmann 1999), although the skin trade has decreased slightly since the 1990s |
| They prey on invertebrates and on any vertebrate they can overpower, fish included. Carrion is on the menu too. | preying upon invertebrates, carrion, human corpses and feces, and any vertebrate (including fish) it can overpower (note: FAQ) |
| along with crocodiles, sea turtles and carrion | crocodiles, sea turtles, lizards, rats, as well as carrion |
| The species is one of the most heavily exploited monitor lizards in the world. | This species is one of the most heavily-exploited varanid lizards globally |
| that can reach 2.5 m | may reach a total length of 2.5 m (note: tagline figure) |
| scent a rotten carcass up to 100 m away | Individuals are able to follow a scent trail and scent a rotten carcass up to 100 m away. (note: tagline) |
| It is extremely widespread | This species is extremely widespread throughout southern and Southeast Asia |
| An extremely broad diet | V. salvator has an extremely broad diet (note: blockquote lead) |

## Varanus salvator. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Varanus_salvator

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The AnAge database gives an average adult weight of 4,345 g. | Adult weight 4,345 g (note: AnAge lists it under 'Life history traits (averages)') |
| The AnAge database records 15.7 years as its maximum longevity, in captivity. | Maximum longevity 15.7 years (captivity) |
| weightKg: 4.3 | Adult weight 4,345 g (note: battleStats.weightKg, AnAge average adult weight rounded (#1231); Light class either way: Samosir et al. 2025 (Riau, n=614 mature) give a mean of 4290.81 g) |

## Chetruengchai et al. (2022). Genome of Varanus salvator macromaculatus (Asian Water Monitor) Reveals Adaptations in the Blood Coagulation and Innate Immune System. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.850817

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| genes for vomeronasal type 2 receptors, a family tied to the response to pheromones | the gene family encoding vomeronasal type 2 receptors (V2Rs) played a significant role in response to pheromones |
| the largest monitor in Southeast Asia and the second largest lizard globally, after the Komodo dragon | the largest monitor in Southeast Asia and the second largest lizard globally after the Komodo dragon |
| The team that sequenced the water monitor's genome puts it second among lizards worldwide. | the second largest lizard globally after the Komodo dragon (note: FAQ) |
| genes for vomeronasal type 2 receptors, a family tied to the response to pheromones (chemical signals that animals give off), came out as significant in the analysis | the gene family encoding vomeronasal type 2 receptors (V2Rs) played a significant role in response to pheromones |
| Southeast Asia's Biggest Monitor | the largest monitor in Southeast Asia (note: heading) |
| No, the Komodo dragon is. | the second largest lizard globally after the Komodo dragon (note: FAQ) |
| When its genome was compared with five other reptiles, 234 gene families were specific to the water monitor. | A total of 234 out of 7,861gene families are specific to V. salvator (note: six genomes compared: V. salvator, V. komodoensis, S. crocodilurus, D. gracilis, A. carolinensis, P. vitticeps) |

## Gleeson & Bennett (1982). Acid-Base Imbalance in Lizards During Activity and Recovery. Journal of Experimental Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.98.1.439

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A water monitor ran for 45 minutes at a pace that needed 85% of its maximum oxygen use. | Varanus salvator was exercised 45 min at an intensity which required 85% of its VO2 max. |
| For the first 10 minutes it also drew on supplementary anaerobic metabolism | Varanus salvator was exercised 45 min at an intensity which required 85% of its VO2 max. V. salvator utilized supplementary anaerobic metabolism during the first 10 min of this sustainable exercise, as evidenced by a 16 mmol/l increase in [L-]a. |
| Half of that lactate was cleared by the end, and its blood pH was back to resting levels. | One half of the accumulated lactate was removed from the blood during the remainder of the 45 min exercise period, while blood pH returned to resting levels. |
| all three lizard species tested (the water monitor, another monitor and an iguana) were exhausted after 5 to 10 minutes | high intensity exercise led to exhaustion after 5 to 10 min in all three species |
| Researchers put lizards on a treadmill | The effects of treadmill exercise on oxygen consumption (V02), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), arterial blood lactate concentration ([L-]a), arterial blood pH and arterial gas tensions (PaO2 and PaCO2) were measured in 3 species of lizards (Varanus salvator, V. exanthematicus, Iguana iguana) |
| shown by a 16 mmol/l rise in blood lactate | utilized supplementary anaerobic metabolism during the first 10 min of this sustainable exercise, as evidenced by a 16 mmol/l increase in [L-]a |
| (the water monitor, another monitor and an iguana) | 3 species of lizards (Varanus salvator, V. exanthematicus, Iguana iguana) (note: V. exanthematicus is a monitor (Varanus), the savannah monitor) |
| A Pace It Can Hold | during the first 10 min of this sustainable exercise (note: heading) |
| On a treadmill a water monitor kept up a pace that needed 85% of its maximum oxygen use for 45 minutes | Varanus salvator was exercised 45 min at an intensity which required 85% of its VO2 max. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Quah et al. (2021). Varanus salvator. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T178214A113138439.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-2.rlts.t178214a113138439.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |
| The IUCN Red List rates it Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: category via GBIF; current assessment 2021) |