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Taxonomy
Varanus was named by Merrem (1820). It is extant. It is the type genus of Varanoidea.
It was assigned to Varaninae by McDowell and Bogert (1954), Kuhn (1966); and to Varanidae by Estes (1983), Estes et al. (1988), Carroll (1988), Alifanov (1993), Clos (1995), Frank and Ramus (1996), Lee and Caldwell (2000), Georgalis et al. (2017), Villa et al. (2018), Ivanov et al. (2018), de Lapparent de Broin et al. (2020), Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze (2020), Villa and Delfino (2022).
It was assigned to Varaninae by McDowell and Bogert (1954), Kuhn (1966); and to Varanidae by Estes (1983), Estes et al. (1988), Carroll (1988), Alifanov (1993), Clos (1995), Frank and Ramus (1996), Lee and Caldwell (2000), Georgalis et al. (2017), Villa et al. (2018), Ivanov et al. (2018), de Lapparent de Broin et al. (2020), Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze (2020), Villa and Delfino (2022).
Species
Iberovaranus catalaunicus, V. (Varaneades), V. acanthurus, V. albigularis, V. baritji, V. beccarii, V. bengalensis, V. bogerti, V. brevicauda, V. catalaunicus, V. caudolineatus, V. deserticolus, V. doreanus, V. dumerili, V. eremitus, V. eremius, V. exanthematicus, V. gilleni, V. griseus, V. hoffmanni, V. hooijeri, V. komodoensis, V. lemoinei, V. lungui, V. marathonensis (syn. V. amnhophilis, V. atticus), V. mokrensis, V. niloticus, V. olivaceus, V. prasinus, V. prisca (syn. Notiosaurus dentatus, V. dirus, V. warburtonensis), V. rusingensis, V. salvadorii, V. salvator, V. semiremex, V. semjonovi, V. sivalensis, V. tristis, V. tyrasiensis, V. varius
Species lacking formal opinion data
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1820 | Varanus Merrem |
| 1859 | Megalania Owen p. 48 |
| 1884 | Notiosaurus Owen |
| 1908 | Varanus lemoinei Nopsca |
| 1913 | Varanus deserticolus Bolkay |
| 1954 | Varanus McDowell and Bogert p. 132 |
| 1966 | Varanus Kuhn p. 57 |
| 1969 | Iberovaranus Hoffstetter |
| 1969 | Iberovaranus catalaunicus Hoffstetter |
| 1969 | Varanus catalaunicus Hoffstetter |
| 1983 | Iberovaranus Estes |
| 1983 | Megalania Estes |
| 1983 | Varanus Estes |
| 1983 | Varanus tyrasiensis Lungu et al. |
| 1986 | Varanus lungui Zerova and Chkhikvadze |
| 1986 | Varanus semjonovi Zerova and Chkhikvadze |
| 1988 | Iberovaranus Carroll |
| 1988 | Megalania Carroll |
| 1988 | Varanus Carroll |
| 1988 | Varanus Estes et al. |
| 1993 | Varanus Alifanov p. 12 |
| 1995 | Varanus Clos p. 254 |
| 1995 | Iberovaranus Clos p. 263 |
| 1995 | Megalania Clos p. 263 |
| 1996 | Varanus Frank and Ramus |
| 2000 | Varanus Lee and Caldwell |
| 2017 | Varanus Georgalis et al. p. 2 |
| 2018 | Varanus Ivanov et al. |
| 2018 | Varanus Villa et al. |
| 2020 | Varanus Vasilyan and Bukhsianidze |
| 2020 | Varanus de Lapparent de Broin et al. p. 418 |
| 2022 | Varanus Villa and Delfino p. 230 |
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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.
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]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Pianka and Vitt 2003, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988 | |||||
Age range
Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Priabonian to the top of the Holocene or 38.00000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 33.9 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 33.9 Ma
Collections (140 total)
Oldest occurrences | |||
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eocene | France (Marne) | V. lemoinei (228962) | |
| Priabonian | Egypt | V. sp. (67706) | |
| Rupelian | Egypt (Fayum) | V. sp. (12954 12960) | |
| Chattian | Australia (Queensland) | V. sp. (134945 135706) | |
| Aquitanian - Burdigalian | Kazakhstan | V. sp. (64355) | |
| Early/Lower Miocene | Pakistan (Baluchistan) | V. sp. (180592) | |
| Early/Lower Miocene - Middle Miocene | Spain (Castile-La Mancha) | V. hoffmanni (136269) | |
| Miocene | Austria (Slazburg) | V. sp. (228963) | |
| Miocene - Pliocene | Uganda | V. sp. (22410) | |
| Burdigalian | Kenya | V. rusingensis (84800) V. sp. (21726) | |
| Burdigalian | China (Jiangsu) | V. sp. (43400) | |
| Burdigalian | Switzerland (Canton of Bern) | V. sp. (230665) | |
| Orleanian | Czech Republic (Moravia) | V. mokrensis (190142 200140) | |
| Orleanian - Middle Miocene | France (Rhône-Alpes) | V. hofmanni (26723) | |
| MN 4 | France (Midi-Pyrenees) | V. sp. (136919) | |
| MN 4 | France (Centre) | V. sp. (69116) | |
| MN 4 | Egypt | V. sp. (53970) | |
| MN 4 | Spain (Catalonia) | Iberovaranus catalaunicus (176265) | |
| Langhian | Germany (Bayern) | V. sp. (44977) | |
| Langhian | France | V. sp. (148395) | |