The Black Tree Monitor is a large species of lizard that can grow to around 4 feet in length. However, the lizards tail makes up over half of this length.
They are sometimes referred to as the Beccari’s Monitor and are native to a chain of Island of the coast of New Guinea.
Black Tree Monitor Taxonomy
The Black Tree Monitor belongs to the Varanidae family of lizards. This family contains only one genus of living lizards. There are two extinct genera associated with this family, Ovoo and Saniwa.
The remaining genus, and the genus that the Black Tree Monitor belongs to is called Varanus. This is essentially the genus of Monitor Lizards, which are native to Africa, Asia and Oceania.
The closest living relatives to the lizards in the Varanus genus are the species in the anguid and helodermatid genera.
The lizards in the anguid genus are native to the Northern Hemisphere and include the glass lizards and the alligator lizards.
There are only 5 species of lizards in the helodermatid genus and they are all venomous. This family includes the Gila Monster.
Monitors are a large genus of lizard that contains over 80 different species at the time of writing. However, many species and sub-species are constantly being disputed so the exact number will change from time to time.
The group of Monitor lizards include some of the largest species of lizards in the world such as the Komodo Dragon and Asian Water Monitor.
The genus name, Varanus is derived from the Arabic word ‘waral’ which simply translates into Monitor.
The scientific name for the Black Tree Monitor is Varanus beccarii. It is sometimes referred to as the Beccari’s Monitor.
This species was first discovered in 1874 by an Italian naturalist named Giacomo Doria. Since its discovery, this Monitor has been reclassified a number of times.
It was long considered to be a sub-species of the Emerald Tree Monitor until it was again re-classified to full species status in 1991.
Black Tree Monitor Description
The Black Tree Monitor is a large species of lizard that can grow to around 4 feet in length, including the tail. The tail itself makes up over half the total length of the lizard.
They are almost jet black in color while males are typically slightly larger than females. However, overall size can vary from specimen to specimen.
Juveniles are a bit lighter and typically appear dark grey in color. They also have bright yellow or green spots which are more prominent on their back.
These spots fade as the lizard matures and darkens. They are an arboreal lizard that are well adapted for climbing, even from a very young age.
Their long tail is prehensile and they use it to assist with climbing by securing themselves among the branches.
Similar to other Tree Monitors, they have very long and slender forelimbs which also assist them with climbing.
They have long, sharp claws and ‘adhesive’ soles on their feet which help them to stick to vertical tree trunks as they climb.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Black Tree Monitor is native to the Aru Islands which are located off the South West Coast of New Guinea.
These islands are made up of around 95 different low-lying island that are part of the Maluku Province of Eastern Indonesia.
They have a total area of around 6,500 square kilometres making the combined size of these islands similar in area to the State of Delaware.
The islands are covered by a mixture of tropical forests, savannas and mangrove swamps. Being a largely arboreal species, the Black Tree Monitor will spend most of its time in the trees.
They share some of their geographical range with the Mangrove Monitor, the Crocodile Monitor and the Blue Tailed Monitor.
Black Tree Monitor Diet
Despite its large size, the Black Tree Monitor will primarily feed on insects. They will consume a wide variety of different insects.
However, they will also eat other sources of food when the opportunity presents itself. They are known to eat small mammals, rodents, scorpions, eggs and birds.
They are even known to eat smaller lizards of different species. In the wild, these lizards a believed to be completely carnivorous as no plant matter has been found in their gut contents.
