Ridge-tailed Monitor
Varanus acanthurus
Ridge-tailed monitors inhabit rocky outcrops, dry scrub, and termite-mound country across northern and central Australia. They forage actively for insects, spiders, small lizards, and occasionally small vertebrates, using sharp claws to probe cracks and crevices. The distinctive spiny ridges on the tail may help protect it when the lizard wedges itself into a narrow shelter.
- Type
- Fang
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- ?
- Ridge-tailed Monitor