Varanus ornatus

It can reach a total body length of up to 1.8–2 m. The color of the back is from olive-green to black, with yellowish marks on the neck. On the back are yellow spots-eyes, grouped in transverse rows. The ventral side is yellowish-gray with transverse stripes. The nostrils are rounded and are closer to the eye than to the tip of the snout. The shields on the head are small. Around the middle of the body are 162 rows of scales. The tail is strongly compressed laterally, with a low dorsal crest.

It differs from the closely related Nile monitor lizard ( Varanus niloticus ) in the following features:

• 3-5 transverse rows of ocular spots on the back (6–9 in the Nile monitor lizard);
• the tongue is whitish or pink with a reddish or purple hue (the Nile monitor lizard has a purple, bluish-black or black tongue);
• a wider head with a muzzle dull and convex in front of the nostrils (the head of the Nile monitor lizard is narrow, wedge-shaped).

The spread of the decorated monitor lizard is limited to the flat tropical forests and coastal meadows of Central and West Africa . The biology of the species is poorly studied. It is found near permanent water bodies. In the wild, a decorated monitor lizard feeds on crabs , insects (especially Orthoptera ), mollusks , millipedes , reptiles , amphibians, and small mammals .

Varanus ornatus is part of the subgenus Polydaedalus . Previously, the species was considered as a subspecies of the Nile monitor lizard under the name Varanus niloticus ornatus . Boehme in 2003 raised the status of a taxon to a species.

• The Reptile Database: Varanus ornatus
• Varanus ornatus on monitor-lizards.net
• http://nessiesmom.freeservers.com/