The Emerald Tree Monitor (Varanus prasinus) is a medium-sized tree lizard. It is a reptile.
The Emerald Tree Monitor is bright green to turquoise-green with dark bands on its back. It has a long slender body. It has long, prehensile claws and a prehensile tail used to grip or wrap around tree branches.
Emerald Tree Monitor Lizard
It measures 75-100 centimetres (30-39 inches) long.
The Emerald Tree Monitor is native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Torres Strait Islands. It prefers lowland regions, particularly tropical forests, swamps, and cocoa plantations. It is arboreal, living in trees.
It eats insects, such as cockroaches, beetles, and centipedes, as well as spiders, crabs, birds, and small mammals.
It is social, living in small groups.
Females lay up to 5 eggs in termite nests. The eggs hatch after 160-190 days. The young eat termites.
Emerald Tree Monitor Lizard
Emerald Tree Monitor Lizard
Emerald Tree Monitor Lizard
Emerald Tree Monitor Lizard
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM