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Emerald tree monitor

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iMonitor lizards
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Sauria
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Species: V. prasinus
Binomial name
Varanus prasinus

The emerald tree monitor (Varanus prasinus) is a small-to-medium-sized arboreal monitor lizard. It is well known for its unusual coloration, spanning a myriad of shades from green to turquoise, topped with dark, transverse dorsal banding. It is the only known monitor lizard species to be omnivorous, in that it feeds on berries and other fruit, in addition to insects, frogs, salamanders, snails, and other small animal fare common to its tropical climate. Emerald tree monitors can be found in New Guinea, as well as several adjacent islands, and on a few islands within the Torres Strait, the body of water separating eastern New Guinea and northern Queensland, Australia. The green tree monitor is reported to thrive in a variety of different lowland environments throughout its range, including tropical evergreen forests, palm swamps and cocoa plantations.

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