| specific dynamic action of a large carnivorous lizard, varanus albigularis. | varanus albigularis inhabits grasslands of southern and eastern africa and experiences months of fasting during the dry season (may-december) followed by voracious feeding during the wet season (january-april). previous studies have found that sit-and-wait foraging snakes, which also experience long intervals between large meals, exhibit unprecedented increases in post-feeding metabolism, which reflects the added cost of up-regulating a previously quiescent gut and digesting a large meal. hence ... | 1997 | 9219355 |
| redescription, molecular characterisation and taxonomic re-evaluation of a unique african monitor lizard haemogregarine karyolysus paradoxa (dias, 1954) n. comb. (karyolysidae). | within the african monitor lizard family varanidae, two haemogregarine genera have been reported. these comprise five species of hepatozoon miller, 1908 and a species of haemogregarina danilewsky, 1885. even though other haemogregarine genera such as hemolivia petit, landau, baccam & lainson, 1990 and karyolysus labbé, 1894 have been reported parasitising other lizard families, these have not been found infecting the varanidae. the genus karyolysus has to date been formally described and named o ... | 2016 | 27305899 |
| yolk coelomitis in a white-throated monitor lizard (varanus albigularis). | yolk coelomitis as a result of pre-ovulatory follicular stasis is a common disorder in captive reptiles, especially in captive lizards of various genera. the clinical signs are generally fairly non-specific and diagnosis is based on clinical signs together with most of the common diagnostic modalities. the condition is most likely a husbandry and environment-related reproductive disorder. it has not been reported in wild free-living specimens. this report describes the clinical presentation and ... | 2010 | 21247021 |
| rapid solving of a problem apparatus by juvenile black-throated monitor lizards (varanus albigularis albigularis). | it is widely accepted that providing stimulus enrichment is an important part of the development and maintenance of behavior and well-being in mammals. however, extending this idea to non-avian reptiles has barely been explored, certainly as an aid to cognitive development. monitor lizards have a reputation for being highly curious and intelligent lizards, but quantitative experiments are necessary to evaluate such impressions as well as the value of providing enrichment to captive squamate rept ... | 2008 | 17899226 |
| spontaneous otoacoustic emissions in monitor lizards. | monitors (all of which belong to the genus varanus) make up a very uniform family of often large lizards. they have a large auditory papilla that is not highly specialized, but is divided into two unequal sub-papillae. all hair cells are covered by a tectorial membrane. spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (soae) were examined in cape monitor lizards (varanus exanthematicus) and found between 1.08 and 2.91 khz (at 32 degrees c) and with levels between -2.8 and 25.8 db spl. the frequency of soae was ... | 2004 | 14987751 |
| naive ophiophagus lizards recognize and avoid venomous snakes using chemical cues. | monitor lizards prey on snakes. conversely, venomous snakes prey on juvenile monitor lizards. immediately after hatching, monitor lizards are naive to all prey items, thus correct assessment of snake prey is paramount for survival. experiments were conducted to determine how hatchling monitor lizards (varanus albigularis) with no previous exposure to snakes reacted to sympatric venomous and nonvenomous snakes. hatchling lizards attacked harmless snakes, but avoided venomous species. lizards read ... | 1992 | 24254719 |
| primary structure of hemoglobin from monitor lizard (varanus exanthematicus albigularis--squamata). | the primary structure of the major hemoglobin component from the monitor lizard varanus exanthematicus albigularis is presented. the polypeptide subunits were separated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography on nucleosil c-4 column. the amino-acid sequence was established by automatic edman degradation of the native polypeptide and its tryptic and hydrolytic cleavage products in a spinning cup sequencer. the structural data are discussed with reference to other reptiles. | 1991 | 1930730 |
| amendment of rostellotaenia freze, 1963 (cestoda: proteocephalidae) from african monitors (varanus spp.) and a redescription of its type-species, r. nilotica (beddard, 1913). | based on morphological evaluation of type-specimens and new material collected in three species of monitor lizards (squamata: varanidae), the diagnosis of the monotypic rostellotaenia freze, 1963 (proteocephalidae: 'acanthotaeniinae') is amended. the genus differs from acanthotaenia von linstow, 1903, with which it was previously synonymised, by the shape of the scolex with a wide, dome-shaped rostellum, the posterior extent of the uterus, which does not overpass the ovarian isthmus posteriorly, ... | 2019 | 31468325 |
| conserved sex chromosomes and karyotype evolution in monitor lizards (varanidae). | despite their long history with the basal split dating back to the eocene, all species of monitor lizards (family varanidae) studied so far share the same chromosome number of 2n = 40. however, there are differences in the morphology of the macrochromosome pairs 5-8. further, sex determination, which revealed zz/zw sex microchromosomes, was studied only in a few varanid species and only with techniques that did not test their homology. the aim of this study was to (i) test if cryptic interchromo ... | 2019 | 30670841 |