Gray's monitor
Encyclopedia
Gray's monitor is a large (180 cm, >9 kg) monitor lizard
known only from lowland dipterocarp
forest
in the east of Luzon
and a few smaller adjacent islands in the Philippines
such as Polillo Island
, where it is locally known as the butaan. It belongs to the subgenus Philippinosaurus. It is largely arboreal and extremely shy. It is classed as vulnerable by the IUCN because most of its habitat
has been destroyed over the last 60 years. Its diet consists primarily of fruit
, especially Pandanus
, and snail
s.
Monitor lizard
Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
known only from lowland dipterocarp
Dipterocarpaceae
Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 17 genera and approximately 500 species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus Dipterocarpus, is derived from Greek and refers to the two-winged fruit...
forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests , also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome....
in the east of Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
and a few smaller adjacent islands in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
such as Polillo Island
Polillo Island
Polillo is an island in the Northeastern region of the Philippine archipelago. It is separated from the island of Luzon by the Polillo Strait.The island itself is subdivided across three municipalities. The municipality of Polillo takes up the Southern part of the island...
, where it is locally known as the butaan. It belongs to the subgenus Philippinosaurus. It is largely arboreal and extremely shy. It is classed as vulnerable by the IUCN because most of its habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
has been destroyed over the last 60 years. Its diet consists primarily of fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, especially Pandanus
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...
, and snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s.