Varanus

Varanus is a genus of large lizards commonly known as monitor lizards, and is the only living genus in the family Varanidae, comprising around 94 recognised species distributed across Africa, Asia, and Oceania, with one species also established as an invasive population in the southern United States. Monitor lizards share long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs, though body size varies enormously across the genus, from species as small as 20 centimetres, such as Varanus sparnus, up to the Komodo dragon, which can exceed three metres; the extinct megalania (Varanus priscus) is thought to have reached lengths of more than seven metres. While most monitor species are primarily carnivorous, hunting smaller reptiles, fish, birds, insects, small mammals, and eggs, a number of species also consume fruit and other plant material.