Wedge-Faced Monitor

"Wedge-Faced Monitor"

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Wedge-Faced Monitor is a very large lizard with a powerful head and a shorter tail compared to other monitor species. The front of it's hardened face is shaped like a wedge, that protects it while it to roots around looking for food. The angled shape also allows any blowing sand to be turned away from its eyes. Inside the mouth are 30 serrated, backwards curving 3 inch teeth and 30 strong crushing teeth that are replaced often. The curved teeth hold the prey and prevent them from escaping the powerful jaws and voracious appetite. The mouth also contains its long, blue, deeply forked tongue. They have rugged, strong legs that help them with short bursts of speed and powerful digging. Their claws are long, black, and very sharp and are used catch prey, dig, and fight. The skin is thick, rough, and protected by scales that have small bones, providing a natural suit of armor.

Genetics and Reproduction

Wedge-Faced Monitors usually mate in late spring to early summer and lay clutches of 5 to 10 eggs in the early fall. Males compete for mates by using there strong necks to wrestle and pin down their opponent. The winning lizard flicks his forked tongue at the female to smell information about her readiness. Wedge-Faced Monitors often form pair bonds and have been known to be monogamous. Females dig several nests and holes to distract and detour other monitors from eating the eggs. The eggs are laid in a nest and incubate for 7 to 8 months and hatch in the spring. Upon hatching, the young lizards spend much of their time hiding in the boulders and rocky crags of mountains and cliffs, where they can find small prey items and are protected from larger adults that are too big to reach them.

Growth Rate & Stages

They grow quickly the first few years and then slow down upon reaching maturity. They are considered mature at 8 to 9 years old and mate throughout the remainder of their lives.

Ecology and Habitats

The Wedge-Faced Monitor is easily adaptable to many environments. It seems to favor mountainous areas and hot dry lands, but is easily adaptable to warm tropical forests, and grasslands. Requiring heat energy from the sun, it is mostly active during the day with occasional nocturnal actions. Generally a solitary creature, it has been known to form pair bonds with mates and come together with others to feed.
In the wild they dig large burrows under rocks or caves with its strong legs and sharp claws. Sleeping in theses burrows allows it to conserve heat and reduce basking time in the sun during the morning hours. The lizard usually looks for food in the afternoon but rests in the shade when it’s too hot out.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Wedge-Faced Monitor is an omnivore and can eat both plants and animals and does best when supplied with a varied amounts of both. It is also very opportunistic and will dine on rotting meat and corpses as well. In its natural environment it will use its wedge shaped face and claws to root around in crevices, move rocks, and uproot small trees in it's search for food. The food usually consists of large insects, grubs, edible roots, fallen fruits, eggs, snakes, and anything that it can fit in its mouth. These lizards have been known to eat up to 50% of its body weight in one meal if left to its own devices. After a large meal the lizard usually needs to lay in the sun to aide in its digestion. Although they have a large appetite, they also have a slow metabolism that allows them to live on much fewer meals. One large meal a month is usually enough to sustain them. When several monitors are eating together a hierarchy is quickly established with the largest lizards eating first.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Wedge-Faced Monitors are usually solitary creatures that do not associate with one another unless mating or coming across food. Some lizards may form pair bonds if they come across each other frequently enough. When several happen to find the same large meal a hierarchy quickly develops with the biggest eating first and smaller lizards waiting for the scraps. Two equally large lizards may enter a contest of strength to determine dominance for both eating and mating.

Domestication

This species is easily domesticated and easily trained with large amount of food. The way to controlling this lizard is clearly through its stomach. They are most useful as simple beasts of burden and their great strength lends them to chores of pulling great loads.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Although they can be slaughtered and eaten (not very tasty), their greatest use is in pulling heavy plows or wagons full of goods. Their proclivity towards warm, sunny environments makes them excellence for desert use. They can go much farther with less required food or water than horses or oxen that would succumb to the harsh environments very quickly.

Facial characteristics

The predominant feature of this lizard, besides it's large squat shape, is its highly angled front of its face. The angled snout is advantageous in helping the animal search for food and for keeping wind blown objects out of its eyes.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Usually resides in warm to hot sunny locations from rock strewn hills and mountains, to deserts, forests, and grasslands.

Average Intelligence

Very low intelligence yet still able to be trained for simple commands. Very useful as a beast of burden.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

This lizard has rather poor hearing due in part to its single ear bone, that reduces hearing to certain low ranges, this often gives the impression that they are deaf. Although able to see prey at 1000 feet, it has poor night vision and difficulty seeing immobile objects. However, it excels with its other senses. It has a good sense of touch and can feel vibrations in the ground with specialized sensory scales on its feet, chin, and lips from far away. It’s most exquisite senses are those of smell and taste and go hand in hand. It uses its long, forked tongue to taste and smell and the chemicals trails of food, prey and carrion in the air from 2 to 6 miles away.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Some small birds will land on the large lizard and pick off the parasites, cleaning the skin. Both the Wedge-Faced Monitor and the birds benefit from this relationship.

by KaiserFlames

Scientific Name

Varanus Cuneatus

Lifespan

25 to 30 years.

Conservation Status

There is not conservation for this species. It is easily domesticated and quite useful as a beast of burden for the local populace.

Average Height

about 4.5 feet tall at the shoulder.

Average Weight

About 700 pounds.

Average Length

About 12 feet from outstretched head to tip of tail.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The Wedge-Faced Monitors body coloring usually ranges from greys to browns to greens and may have some striped marking to break up its outline. The colors are usually reminiscent of the environment in which it was born.