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Taxonomy
Varanidae was named by Hardwicke and Gray (1824) [also attributed to Gray 1827]. It is extant. It was considered monophyletic by Lee and Caldwell (2000).
It was assigned to Thecaglossa by Cope (1871) and Cope (1875); to Lacertae by Gadow (1898); to Sauria by Hay (1902); to Lacertidi by Perrier (1928); to Anguioidae by Hay (1930); to Platynota by Kuhn (1946) and McDowell and Bogert (1954); to Lacertilia by McGrew et al. (1959); to Platynota by Estes and Berberian (1970) and Borsuk-Bialynicka (1984); to Sauria by Clos (1995); to Lacertilia by Zittel (1890), Huene (1954) and Frank and Ramus (1996); to Anguimorpha by Alifanov (1993) and Gao and Hou (1996); to Anguimorpha by Alifanov (2000), Smith (2006) and Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze (2020); and to Varanoidea by Baur (1890), Estes (1964), Kuhn (1966), Seiffert (1975), Estes (1983), Stritzke (1983), Estes et al. (1988), Carroll (1988), Gao and Fox (1996), Lee and Caldwell (2000), Peng et al. (2001), Conrad (2006), Ivanov et al. (2018) and de Lapparent de Broin et al. (2020).
It was assigned to Thecaglossa by Cope (1871) and Cope (1875); to Lacertae by Gadow (1898); to Sauria by Hay (1902); to Lacertidi by Perrier (1928); to Anguioidae by Hay (1930); to Platynota by Kuhn (1946) and McDowell and Bogert (1954); to Lacertilia by McGrew et al. (1959); to Platynota by Estes and Berberian (1970) and Borsuk-Bialynicka (1984); to Sauria by Clos (1995); to Lacertilia by Zittel (1890), Huene (1954) and Frank and Ramus (1996); to Anguimorpha by Alifanov (1993) and Gao and Hou (1996); to Anguimorpha by Alifanov (2000), Smith (2006) and Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze (2020); and to Varanoidea by Baur (1890), Estes (1964), Kuhn (1966), Seiffert (1975), Estes (1983), Stritzke (1983), Estes et al. (1988), Carroll (1988), Gao and Fox (1996), Lee and Caldwell (2000), Peng et al. (2001), Conrad (2006), Ivanov et al. (2018) and de Lapparent de Broin et al. (2020).
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1824 | Varanidae Hardwicke and Gray |
| 1871 | Varanidae Cope p. 237 |
| 1875 | Varanidae Cope p. 19 |
| 1890 | Varanidae Baur p. 262 |
| 1890 | Varanidae Zittel p. 608 |
| 1898 | Varanidae Gadow p. 26 |
| 1902 | Varanidae Hay p. 476 |
| 1928 | Varanidae Perrier p. 3097 |
| 1930 | Varanidae Hay p. 251 |
| 1946 | Varanidae Kuhn p. 61 |
| 1954 | Varanidae Huene p. 62 |
| 1954 | Varanidae McDowell and Bogert p. 131–132 |
| 1959 | Varanidae McGrew et al. p. 135 |
| 1964 | Varanidae Estes p. 135 |
| 1966 | Varanidae Kuhn p. 57 |
| 1970 | Varanidae Estes and Berberian p. 5 |
| 1975 | Varanidae Seiffert p. 10 |
| 1983 | Varanidae Estes |
| 1983 | Varanidae Stritzke |
| 1984 | Varanidae Borsuk-Bialynicka p. 50 |
| 1988 | Varanidae Carroll |
| 1988 | Varanidae Estes et al. |
| 1993 | Varanidae Alifanov p. 12 |
| 1995 | Varanidae Clos p. 254 |
| 1996 | Varanidae Frank and Ramus |
| 1996 | Varanidae Gao and Fox p. 89 |
| 1996 | Varanidae Gao and Hou p. 590 |
| 2000 | Varanidae Alifanov p. 380 |
| 2000 | Varanidae Lee and Caldwell |
| 2001 | Varanidae Peng et al. p. 31 |
| 2006 | Varanidae Conrad p. 122 |
| 2006 | Varanidae Smith p. 6 |
| 2018 | Varanidae Ivanov et al. |
| 2020 | Varanidae Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze |
| 2020 | Varanidae de Lapparent de Broin et al. p. 418 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Fm. Varanidae Hardwicke and Gray 1824 [monitor lizard]
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G. Lanthanotus Steindachner 1877 [earless monitor lizard]
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Lanthanotus borneensis Steindachner 1878 [Borneo earless monitor]
G. Varanus Merrem 1820
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Subg. †Varanus (Varaneades) Conrad et al. 2012
Varanus acanthurus Boulenger 1885 [Ridgetail monitor]
Varanus albigularis Daudin 1802 [White-throated monitor]
Varanus baritji King and Horner 1987 [Stone monitor]
Varanus beccarii Doria 1874 [Black tree monitor]
Varanus bengalensis Daudin 1802 [Bengal monitor]
Varanus bogerti Mertens 1950 [Bogert's monitor]
Varanus brevicauda Boulenger 1898 [Short-tail monitor]
Varanus caudolineatus Boulenger 1885 [Stripetail monitor]
Varanus doreanus Bohme et al. 1994 [Bluetail monitor]
Varanus dumerili Schlegel 1839 [Dumeril's monitor]
†Varanus eremitus De Vis 1889
Varanus eremius Lucas and Frost 1895 [Spinifex monitor]
Varanus exanthematicus Bosc 1792 [savannah monitor]
Varanus gilleni Lucas and Frost 1895 [Pigmy mulga monitor]
Varanus griseus Daudin 1803 [Desert monitor]
†Varanus hoffmanni Roger 1898
†Varanus hooijeri Brongersma 1958
Varanus komodoensis Ouwens 1912 [Komodo dragon]
†Varanus marathonensis Weithofer 1888
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Invalid names: Varanus amnhophilis Conrad et al. 2012 [synonym], Varanus atticus Nopcsa 1908 [synonym]
†Varanus mokrensis Ivanov et al. 2018
Varanus niloticus Linnaeus 1766 [Nile monitor]
Varanus olivaceus Hallowell 1856 [Gray's monitor]
Varanus prasinus Schlegel 1839 [Emerald monitor]
†Varanus prisca Owen 1859
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Invalid names: Notiosaurus dentatus Owen 1884 [synonym], Varanus dirus de Vis 1889 [synonym], Varanus warburtonensis Zeitz 1899 [synonym]
†Varanus rusingensis Clos 1995
Varanus salvadorii Peters and Doria 1878 [Crocodile monitor]
Varanus salvator Laurenti 1768 [Common water monitor]
Varanus semiremex Peters 1869
†Varanus sivalensis Falconer 1868
Varanus tristis Schlegel 1839 [Arid monitor]
Varanus varius Shaw 1790 [Lace monitor]
Invalid names: Iberovaranus Hoffstetter 1969 [synonym], Megalania Owen 1859 [synonym], Notiosaurus Owen 1884 [synonym], Varanus catalaunicus Hoffstetter 1969 [nomen dubium], Varanus deserticolus Bolkay 1913 [nomen dubium], Varanus lemoinei Nopsca 1908 [nomen dubium], Varanus lungui Zerova and Chkhikvadze 1986 [nomen dubium], Varanus semjonovi Zerova and Chkhikvadze 1986 [nomen dubium], Varanus tyrasiensis Lungu et al. 1983 [nomen dubium]
Invalid names: Megalaninae Camp 1923 [empty], Varaninae [empty]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. Perrier 1928 | Pleurodontes; langue longue, profondément bifide, protractile
(FISSILINGUES), lisse. Arc postfronto-squamosal présent, le post-orbitaire incomplet, os nasaux fusionnés ; fosse supratemporale non recouverte par des os dermiques. Grande taille; aspect lacertoïde typique; cou allongé. | |
| S. B. McDowell and C. M. Bogert 1954 | Jugal not meeting prefrontal; lacrimal foramen double; vagus passing through hypoglossal foramen; splenial sutured along ventral border of coronoid; descending processes of frontal meeting to underarch olfactory tracts but not separating orbits; teeth without venom canals; temporal arch present; pineal foramen present; pro- otic and parietal forming a very short and imperfect contact; vertebral centra constricted anterior to condyles; vertebral central articulations oblique; phalangeal formula 2-3-4-5-3; sacrum of two vertebrae; pelvis complete; cervical vertebrae nine; at least one coracoid emargination; interclavicle anchor-shaped; postorbital arch broken. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Pianka and Vitt 2003 | |||||
Age range
Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Late/Upper Turonian to the top of the Holocene or 93.50000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 86.3 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 86.3 Ma
Collections (168 total)
Oldest occurrences | |||
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Turonian - Coniacian | Kazakhstan (Qyzylorda) | Varanidae indet. (84557) | |
| Judithian | USA (Montana) | Varanidae indet. (14453) | |
| Late/Upper Campanian | Mongolia (Omnogov) | Cherminotus longifrons (51033) Telmasaurus grangeri (46152) | |
| Late/Upper Campanian | Mexico (Coahuila) | Varanidae indet. (35360) | |
| Middle Campanian | China (Nei Mongol) | Varanidae indet. A, Varanidae indet. B (116292) | |
| Middle Campanian - Late/Upper Campanian | Mongolia (Omnogov) | Cherminotus longifrons (28243) Saniwides mongoliensis, Telmasaurus grangeri (13776) | |
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | USA (Wyoming) | Varanidae indet. (22638) | |
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | USA (South Dakota) | Varanidae indet. (224488) | |
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | USA (Montana) | Palaeosaniwa canadensis (13142) | |
| Tiffanian | USA (North Dakota) | Varanidae indet. (15000) | |
| Eocene | France (Marne) | Varanus lemoinei (228962) | |
| Lostcabinian | USA (Wyoming) | Varanidae indet. (15917) | |
| Wasatchian | Canada (Northwest Territories) | Varanidae indet. (15583) | |
| Early/Lower Eocene | China (Hubei) | Archaeovaranus lii (175177) | |
| Early/Lower Eocene | Portugal (Região Centro) | Varanidae indet. (79200) | |
| Priabonian | Egypt | Varanus sp. (67706) | |
| Rupelian | Egypt (Fayum) | Varanidae indet., Varanus sp. (12954) Varanus sp. (12960) | |
| Chattian | Australia (Queensland) | Varanus sp. (134945 135706) | |
| Aquitanian - Burdigalian | Kazakhstan | Varanus sp. (64355) | |
| Early/Lower Miocene | Pakistan (Baluchistan) | Varanidae indet. (180603) Varanus sp. (180592) | |