Mertens's water monitor

Description:

As the name suggests, the Mertens’s water monitor loves the water. During the day the monitor can be found basking on rocks and logs near the shoreline of rivers, creeks, billabongs and lagoons. The monitors are great swimmers, and have a special valve in their nostrils that closes when they dive. Their nostrils are also on the top of their head, like a crocodile’s, so that they can stay partially submerged in the water when searching for prey. These big reptiles grow to a metre long and can weigh up to 380 grams. They are light grey to dark brown, with a scattering of light yellow to cream spots. Their underbelly is also light yellow to cream.

Habitat:

The Mertens’s water monitor lives near coastal and inland water sources in northern Australia, from the Kimberley in Western Australia to the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.

Notes:

Photo of two captive Mertens's water monitors taken in Hartley's Crocodile Adventures, Australia.