Asian water monitor: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Asian water monitor lives – recorded in 8 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Varanus salvator
Group	Lizards, geckos & tuatara
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	8 countries
Continents	Asia, North America
Mass	2,280 g (mean)
Length	540 mm (mean)
Class	Reptile
Order	Squamata
Family	Varanidae

Where does the Asian water monitor live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Asian water monitor in 8 countries and territories across Asia and North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is an Asian water monitor?

Wikidata records the following for the Asian water monitor: mass 2,280 g (mean); length 540 mm (mean).

Is the Asian water monitor endangered?

The Asian water monitor’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Asian water monitor?

The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) is a reptile in the order Squamata and the family Varanidae, genus Varanus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Asian water monitor

The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is widely considered to be the second-largest lizard species, after the Komodo dragon. It is distributed from eastern and northeastern India and Bangladesh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, through southern China and Hainan Island in the east to Mainland Southeast Asia and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Lombok, the Riau Archipelago, and Sulawesi. It is one of the most widespread monitor lizards.

The Asian water monitor has a natural affinity towards water, inhabiting the surroundings of lakes, rivers, ponds, swamps, and various riparian habitats, including sewers, city parks, and urban waterways. It is an excellent swimmer and hunts fish, frogs, invertebrates, water birds, and other aquatic and amphibious prey.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Asian water monitor (revision 1380283258), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q655616 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).