Varanidae
Squamata
Reptilia
160-190 days
2- 5 eggs.
Insects and small vertebrates.
10-20 years.
This species was initially described as Monitor viridis by John Edward Gray in 1831. Its current specific name: prasinus, which means green in Latin.
Up to 1 meter in length, this monitor has a coloration of green and turquoise tones, with dark stippling and transverse dorsal bands of the same tone. It lives in New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands. A monitor with arboreal habits, its slender body, long prehensile tail and claws allow it to easily hold on to tree branches.
A unique trait of this arboreal monitor is the ability to use its tail as a fifth limb. Additionally, it is one of the few social species; It lives in small groups with a dominant male, several females and some subordinate males and juvenile specimens.
When threatened, the emerald monitor tends to flee by scurrying through the forest, although in its handling, it is an animal that bites when cornered.
