73-546: The clouded monitor ( Varanus nebulosus ) is a species of monitor lizard , native to Burma , Thailand and Indochina to West Malaysia , Singapore , Java , Sumatra , and Vietnam . They are excellent tree climbers . It belongs to the subgenus Empagusia along with the Bengal monitor , the Dumeril's monitor and other monitor lizards. It had previously been listed as a subspecies of Bengal monitor by some herpetologists. It
146-612: A Spanish expedition under Ferdinand Magellan reached the Marianas. This contact is recorded in Antonio Pigafetta 's chronicle of Magellan's voyage, in which he recounts that the Chamorro people had no apparent knowledge of people outside of their island group. A Portuguese account of the same voyage suggests that the Chamorro people who greeted the travellers did so "without any shyness as if they were good acquaintances". Further contact
219-476: A chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands, arranged in an approximate north-to-south line. In a geographical sense, the equator serves as the dividing line between the northern Gilbert Islands and the southern Gilbert Islands. The Republic of Kiribati contains all of the Gilberts, including the island of Tarawa , the site of the country's capital. The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by
292-455: A high aerobic scope that is afforded, in part, by their heart anatomy. Whereas most reptiles are considered to have three-chambered hearts, the hearts of monitor lizards – as with those of boas and pythons – have a well developed ventricular septum that completely separates the pulmonary and systemic sides of the circulatory system during systole . This allows monitor lizards to create mammalian-equivalent pressure differentials between
365-2068: A large number of slightly related local names for them. They are usually known as biawak ( Malay , including Indonesian standard variety), bayawak ( Filipino ), binjawak or minjawak or nyambik ( Javanese ), or variations thereof. Other names include hokai ( Solomon Islands ); bwo , puo , or soa ( Maluku ); halo ( Cebu ); galuf or kaluf ( Micronesia and the Caroline Islands ); batua or butaan ( Luzon ); alu ( Bali ); hora or ghora ( Komodo group of islands); phut ( Burmese ); and guibang ( Manobo ). In South Asia , they are known as hangkok in Meitei , mwpou in Boro, ghorpad घोरपड in Marathi , uḍumbu உடும்பு in Tamil and udumbu ഉടുമ്പ് in Malayalam , bilgoh in Bhojpuri , gohi (गोहि) in Maithili , in Sinhala as තලගොයා / කබරගොයා ( talagoya [land monitor] / kabaragoya [water monitor where kabara means vitiligo] ), in Telugu as uḍumu (ఉడుము), in Kannada as uḍa (ಉಡ), in Punjabi and Magahi as गोह ( goh ), in Assamese as gui xaap , in Odia as ଗୋଧି ( godhi ), and in Bengali as গোসাপ ( goshaap ) or গুইসাপ ( guishaap ), and गोह ( goh ) in Hindi and गोधा ( godhā ) in Sanskrit . The West African Nile monitor
438-805: A mandate to Japan and were named the South Seas Mandate . During World War II , Nauru and Ocean Island were occupied by Japanese troops, with also an occupation of some of the Gilbert Islands and were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific. Following Japan's defeat in World War II its mandate became a United Nations Trusteeship administered by the United States as the Trust Territory of
511-596: A staple in the reptile pet trade. The most commonly kept monitors are the savannah monitor and Ackie dwarf monitor , due to their relatively small size, low cost, and relatively calm dispositions with regular handling. Among others, black-throated , Timor , Asian water , Nile , mangrove , emerald tree , black tree , roughneck , Dumeril's , peach-throated , crocodile , and Argus monitors have been kept in captivity. Monitor lizards are poached in some South- and Southeast Asian countries, as their organs and fat are used in some traditional medicines , although there
584-627: A subset of the sea-migrating Austronesian people , who may also include the Polynesian people and the hypothetical Australo-Melanesian or " Melanesian people". Human settlement of Micronesia began several millennia ago. Based on the current scientific consensus, the Austronesian peoples originated from a prehistoric seaborne migration , known as the Austronesian expansion , from pre- Han Formosa , at around 3000 to 1500 BCE. Austronesians reached
657-565: A subspecies of the Pelew flying fox or the Mariana fruit bat , is also endemic to Yap. The region has a tropical marine climate moderated by seasonal northeast trade winds . There is little seasonal temperature variation. The dry season runs from December or January to June and the rainy season from July to November or December. Because of the location of some islands, the rainy season can sometimes include typhoons . The Northern Mariana Islands were
730-521: A time. However, they tend to stay mainly at ports of entry and are too few in number to be counted as a major source of income. Copra production used to be a more significant source of income, however, world prices have dropped in part to large palm plantations that are now planted in places like Borneo . The people today form many ethnicities, but all are descended from and belong to the Micronesian culture. Because of this mixture of descent, many of
803-524: A total land area of 2,700 km (1,000 sq mi), the largest of which is Guam , which covers 582 km (225 sq mi). The total ocean area within the perimeter of the islands is 7,400,000 km (2,900,000 sq mi). There are four main island groups in Micronesia: This does not include the separate island nation of Nauru , along with other distinctly separate islands and smaller island groups. The Caroline Islands are
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#1733084600524876-517: A widely scattered archipelago consisting of about 500 small coral islands , north of New Guinea and east of the Philippines . The Carolines consist of two nations: the Federated States of Micronesia , consisting of approximately 600 islands on the eastern side of the chain with Kosrae being the most eastern; and Palau consisting of 250 islands on the western side. The Gilbert Islands are
949-648: Is Archaeovaranus from the Eocene of China, suggesting that the genus Varanus is of Asian origin. The oldest fossils of Varanus date to the early Miocene . Many of the species within the various subgenera also form species complexes with each other: Euprepriosaurus Odatria Varanus Polydaedalus Empagusia Soterosaurus The tree monitors of the V. prasinus species complex ( V. prasinus , V. beccarii , V. boehmei , V. bogerti , V. keithhornei , V. kordensis , V. macraei , V. reisingeri , V. telenesetes ) were once in
1022-754: Is a diurnal monitor. Clouded monitors can on occasion grow up to 1.5 metres long. This lizard article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Monitor lizard Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus Varanus , the only extant genus in the family Varanidae . They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania , and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species . About 80 species are recognized. Monitor lizards have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. The adult length of extant species ranges from 20 cm (7.9 in) in some species such as Varanus sparnus , to over 3 m (10 ft) in
1095-472: Is a subregion of Oceania , consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean . It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples . The region has a tropical marine climate and is part of
1168-559: Is an atoll in the Marshall Islands. There are 23 islands in the Bikini Atoll. The islands of Bokonijien, Aerokojlol and part of Nam were destroyed during nuclear tests that occurred there. The islands are composed of low coral limestone and sand. The average elevation is only about 2.1 metres (7 ft) above low tide level. Nauru is an oval-shaped island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 42 km (26 mi) south of
1241-639: Is banned under the Protected Species Act. Varanus is the only living genus of the family Varanidae . Varanids last shared a common ancestor with their closest living relatives, earless "monitors" , during the Late Cretaceous . The oldest known varanids are from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. During the Eocene , the varanid Saniwa occurred in North America. The closest known relative of Varanus
1314-589: Is derived from the Arabic word ورل waral [Standard Arabic] / ورر warar [colloquially] / ورن waran [colloquially], from a common Semitic root ouran , waran , warar or waral , meaning "lizard beast". In English, they are known as "monitors" or "monitor lizards". The earlier term "monitory lizard" became rare by about 1920. The name may have been suggested by the occasional habit of varanids to stand on their two hind legs and to appear to "monitor", or perhaps from their supposed habit of "warning people of
1387-563: Is diverse and complex, as a result of the diverse ecological niches monitor lizards occupy. For example, many species have anticoagulant venom, disrupting clotting through a combination of fibrinogenolysis and blocking platelet aggregation. Amongst them, arboreal species, such as the tree monitors and the banded monitor , have by far the strongest fibrinogenolytic venom. As a result, wounds from monitor lizard bites often bleed more than they would if they were simply lacerations. Venom may also cause hypotension . In some species such as
1460-591: Is known by several names in Yoruba , including awọ́nríwọ́n , awọ̀n , and àlégbà . In Wolof it is known as mbossé or bar , and is the traditional totem of the city of Kaolack . Due to confusion with the large New World lizards of the family Iguanidae , the lizards became known as " goannas " in Australia. Similarly, in South African English , they are referred to as leguaans , or likkewaans , from
1533-483: Is no scientific evidence as to their effectiveness. Monitor lizard meat, particularly the tongue and liver, is eaten in parts of India and Malaysia and is supposed to be an aphrodisiac . In parts of Pakistan and southern India, as well in Northeastern India, particularly Assam, the different parts of monitor lizards are traditionally used for treating rheumatic pain, skin infections and hemorrhoids , and
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#17330846005241606-544: Is used for membranes in traditional drums (called kundu ), and these lizards are referred to as kundu palai or "drum lizard" in Tok Pisin , the main Papuan trade language. Monitor lizard skins are prized in making the resonant part of serjas (Bodo folk sarangis) and dotaras (native strummed string instruments of Assam, Bengal and other eastern states). The leather is also used in making a Carnatic music percussion instrument called
1679-583: The kanjira . The meat of monitor lizards is eaten by some tribes in India, Nepal, the Philippines, Australia, South Africa and West Africa as a supplemental meat source. Both meat and eggs are also eaten in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand as a delicacy. According to IUCN Red List of threatened species, most of the monitor lizards species fall in the categories of least concern, but
1752-618: The Carolines to the south. The Chamorro language is included in the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian family. Because Guam was colonized by Spain for over 300 years, many words derive from the Spanish language . The traditional Chamorro number system was replaced by Spanish numbers. The Chuukese people are an ethnic group in Oceania . They constitute 48% of the population of
1825-527: The Carolinian people may have originally immigrated from the Asian mainland and Indonesia to Micronesia around 2,000 years ago. Their primary language is Carolinian , called Refaluwasch by native speakers, which has a total of about 5,700 speakers. The Carolinians have a matriarchal society in which respect is a very important factor in their daily lives, especially toward the matriarchs . Most Carolinians are of
1898-771: The Dutch term for the Iguanidae, leguanen . The various species cover a vast area, occurring through Africa, the Indian subcontinent , to China , the Ryukyu Islands in southern Japan , south to Southeast Asia to Thailand , Malaysia , Brunei , Indonesia , the Philippines , New Guinea , Australia , and islands of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea . They have also been introduced outside of their natural range, for instance,
1971-450: The Equator , listed as the world's smallest republic , covering just 21 km (8 sq mi). With 12,511 residents, it is the third least-populated country , after Vatican City and Tuvalu . The island is surrounded by a coral reef, which is exposed at low tide and dotted with pinnacles. The presence of the reef has prevented the establishment of a seaport , although channels in
2044-626: The Federated States of Micronesia (often shortened to "FSM" or "Micronesia"—not to be confused with the identical name for the overall region). The Gilbert Islands (along with the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands in Polynesia) comprise the Republic of Kiribati . The Mariana Islands are affiliated with the United States; some of them belong to the U.S. Territory of Guam and the rest belong to
2117-554: The Komodo dragon and the desert monitor , venom also induces a powerful neurotoxic effect. In the latter species for instance, envenomation causes immediate paralysis in rodents (but not birds) and lesser effects of the same nature in humans. At least some species of monitors are known to be able to count; studies feeding rock monitors varying numbers of snails showed that they can distinguish numbers up to six. Nile monitors have been observed to cooperate when foraging; one animal lures
2190-820: The Oceanian realm . It includes four main archipelagos —the Caroline Islands , the Gilbert Islands , the Mariana Islands , and the Marshall Islands — as well as numerous islands that are not part of any archipelago. Political control of areas within Micronesia varies depending on the island, and is distributed among six sovereign nations. Some of the Caroline Islands are part of the Republic of Palau and some are part of
2263-529: The Ratak Chain and the Ralik Chain (meaning "sunrise" and "sunset" chains). All the islands in the chain are part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands , a presidential republic in free association with the United States. Having few natural resources, the islands' wealth is based on a service economy , as well as some fishing and agriculture . Of the 29 atolls, 24 of them are inhabited. Bikini Atoll
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2336-472: The Roman Catholic faith. The immigration of Carolinians to Saipan began in the early 19th century, after the Spanish reduced the local population of Chamorro natives to just 3,700. They began to immigrate mostly sailing from small canoes from other islands, which a typhoon previously devastated. The Carolinians have a much darker complexion than the native Chamorros . The Chamorro people are
2409-673: The Spanish–American War . Spain then sold the remaining northerly islands to Germany in 1899. Germany lost all of her colonies at the end of World War I and the Northern Mariana Islands became a League of Nations Mandate, with Japan as the mandatory. After World War II , the islands were transferred into the United Nations Trust Territory System, with the United States as Trustee. In 1976,
2482-419: The U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands . The island of Nauru is its own sovereign nation. The Marshall Islands all belong to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The sovereignty of Wake Island is contested: it is claimed both by the United States and by the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The United States has actual possession of Wake Island, which is under the immediate administration of
2555-484: The United States Air Force . Notwithstanding the fact that the notion of "Micronesia" has been quite well established since 1832 and has been used ever since, by most popular works, this set does not correspond to any geomorphological, archaeological, linguistic, ethnic or cultural unity, but on the contrary represents a disparate ensemble, with no real deep unity. In fact, "Micronesian people" does not exist as
2628-424: The United States Air Force . While geographically adjacent, it is not ethnoculturally part of Micronesia, due to its historical lack of human inhabitation. Micronesians may have possibly visited Wake Island in prehistoric times to harvest fish, but there is nothing to suggest any kind of settlement. The majority of the islands in the area are part of a coral atoll . Coral atolls begin as coral reefs that grow on
2701-799: The West African Nile monitor is now found in South Florida . Monitor lizards also occurred widely in Europe in the Neogene , with the last known remains in the region dating to the Middle Pleistocene . Most monitor lizards are almost entirely carnivorous, consuming prey as varied as insects, crustaceans , arachnids , myriapods , molluscs , fish, amphibians , reptiles, birds, and mammals. Most species feed on invertebrates as juveniles and shift to feeding on vertebrates as adults. Deer make up about 50% of
2774-559: The indigenous peoples of the Mariana Islands , which are politically divided between the United States territory of Guam and the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Micronesia. The Chamorro are commonly believed to have come from Southeast Asia at around 2000 BC . They are most closely related to other Austronesian natives to the west in the Philippines and Taiwan , as well as
2847-611: The Mariana Islands, and other possessions to Germany. Under German control, the islands became a protectorate and were administered from German New Guinea . Nauru had already been annexed and claimed as a colony by Germany in 1888. In the early 20th century, the islands of Micronesia were divided between three foreign powers: During World War I , Germany's Pacific island territories were seized and became League of Nations mandates in 1923. Nauru became an Australian mandate, while Germany's other territories in Micronesia were given as
2920-546: The Northern Mariana Islands and the United States entered into a covenant of political union under which commonwealth status was granted the Northern Mariana Islands and its residents received United States citizenship. The Marshall Islands are located north of Nauru and Kiribati , east of the Federated States of Micronesia , and south of the U.S. territory of Wake Island . The islands consist of 29 low-lying atolls and 5 isolated islands, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets . The atolls and islands form two groups:
2993-721: The Northern Marianas the only islands in Oceania where rice was grown prior to European contact. However, it was considered a high-status crop and only used in rituals. It did not become a staple until after Spanish colonization . Construction of Nan Madol , a megalithic complex made from basalt lava logs in Pohnpei, began in around 1180 CE. This was followed by the construction of the Leluh complex in Kosrae in around 1200. The earliest known contact with Europeans occurred in 1521, when
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3066-430: The Pacific Islands . Nauru became independent in 1968. Today, most of Micronesia are independent states, except for the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , Guam and Wake Island , which are U.S. territories. The Pacific Community (SPC) is a regional intergovernmental organization whose membership includes both nations and territories in the Pacific Ocean and their metropolitan powers. Nationally,
3139-416: The United States, and the $ 150 million the US paid into a trust fund for reparations of residents of Bikini Atoll who had to move after nuclear testing. Few mineral deposits worth exploiting exist, except for some high-grade phosphate, especially on Nauru . Most residents of Micronesia can freely move to and work within, the United States. Relatives working in the US who send money home to relatives represent
3212-463: The Yap islands occurred in 1625. In the early 17th century Spain colonized Guam , the Northern Marianas and the Caroline Islands (what would later become the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau), creating the Spanish East Indies , which was governed from the Spanish Philippines . When Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue visited the Marshall Islands in 1817, he noted that Marshallese families practiced infanticide after
3285-443: The ancestors of the Polynesian people . Further migrations by other Austronesians also followed, likely from Sulawesi , settling Palau and Yap by around 1000 BCE. The details of this colonization, however, are not very well known. In 200 BCE, a loosely connected group of Lapita colonists from Island Melanesia also migrated back northwards, settling the islands of eastern Micronesia almost simultaneously. This region became
3358-501: The approach of venomous animals". But all of these explanations for the name "monitor" postdate Linnaeus giving the scientific name Lacerta monitor to the Nile monitor in 1758, which may have been based on a mistaken idea by Linnaeus that the German word Waran (borrowed from Arabic) was connected to warnen (to warn), leading him to incorrectly Latinize it as monitor ('warner', 'adviser'). Austronesian languages spoken across Southeast Asia , where varanids are common, have
3431-486: The birth of a third child as a form of population planning due to frequent famines . In 1819, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions —a Protestant group—brought their Puritan ways to Polynesia. Soon after, the Hawaiian Missionary Society was founded and sent missionaries into Micronesia. Conversion was not met with as much opposition, as the local religions were less developed (at least according to Western ethnographic accounts). In contrast, it took until
3504-433: The case of the Komodo dragon , though the extinct megalania ( Varanus priscus ) may have reached lengths of more than 7 m (23 ft). Most monitor species are terrestrial , but many are also arboreal or semiaquatic. While most monitor lizards are carnivorous , eating smaller reptiles, fish , birds , insects , small mammals, and eggs, a few species also eat fruit and vegetation . The generic name Varanus
3577-446: The center of another wave of migrations radiating outwards, reconnecting them with other settled islands in western Micronesia. Around 800 CE, a second wave of migrants from Southeast Asia arrived in the Marianas, beginning what is now known as the Latte period . These new settlers built large structures with distinctive capped stone pillars known as haligi . They also reintroduced rice (which did not survive earlier voyages), making
3650-411: The diet of adult Komodo dragons, the largest monitor species. In contrast, three arboreal species from the Philippines, Varanus bitatawa , mabitang , and olivaceus , are primarily fruit eaters . Monitor lizards are considered unique among animals in that its members are relatively morphologically conservative, yet show a very large size range. However, finer morphological features such as
3723-460: The earlier populations on the islands in their migration pathway. The earliest known contact of Europeans with Micronesia was in 1521, when Magellan expedition landed in the Marianas . Jules Dumont d'Urville is usually credited with coining the term "Micronesia" in 1832, but in fact, Louis Domeny de Rienzi [ fr ] used this term a year earlier. Micronesia is a region in Oceania that includes approximately 2100 islands, with
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#17330846005243796-504: The end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries for missionaries to fully convert the inhabitants of Melanesia; however, a comparison of the cultural contrast must take into account the fact that Melanesia has always had deadly strains of malaria present in various degrees and distributions throughout its history (see De Rays Expedition ) and up to the present; conversely, Micronesia does not have—and never seems to have had—any malarial mosquitos nor pathogens on any of its islands in
3869-455: The ethnicities of Micronesia feel closer to some groups in Melanesia , or the Philippines . A good example of this are the Yapese people who are related to Austronesian tribes in the northern Philippines . Genetics also show a significant number of Micronesian have Japanese paternal ancestry: 9.5% of males from Micronesia as well as 0.2% in East Timor carry the Haplogroup D-M55 . There are also substantial Asian communities found across
3942-414: The female crocodile away from her nest, while the other opens the nest to feed on the eggs. The decoy then returns to also feed on the eggs. Komodo dragons at the National Zoo in Washington, DC , recognize their keepers and seem to have distinct personalities. Blue and green tree monitors in British zoos have been observed shredding leaves, apparently as a form of play. Monitor lizards have become
4015-626: The first islands in Oceania colonized by the Austronesian peoples . They were settled by the voyagers who sailed eastwards from the Philippines in approximately 1500 BCE. These populations gradually moved southwards until they reached the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands by 1300 BCE and reconnected with the Lapita culture of the southeast migration branch of Austronesians moving through coastal New Guinea and Island Melanesia . By 1200 BCE, they again began crossing open seas beyond inter-island visibility, reaching Vanuatu , Fiji , and New Caledonia ; before continuing eastwards to become
4088-409: The highest standard metabolic rates of all extant reptiles. Like snakes, monitor lizards have highly forked tongues that act as part of the "smell" sense, where the tips of the tongue carry molecules from the environment to sensory organs in the skull. The forked apparatus allows for these lizards to sense boundaries in the molecules they collect, almost smelling in "stereo". Monitor lizards have
4161-404: The loss of the administrative center of Manila and indefensible after the loss of two Spanish fleets in the war. The Spanish government therefore decided to sell the remaining islands to a new colonial power: the German Empire . The treaty, which was signed by Spanish Prime Minister Francisco Silvela on 12 February 1899, transferred the Caroline Islands (Kosrae in the east to Palau in the west),
4234-399: The northernmost Philippines , specifically the Batanes Islands , by around 2200 BCE. Austronesians were the first people to invent oceangoing sailing technologies (notably catamarans , outrigger boats , lashed-lug boat building , and the crab claw sail ), which enabled their rapid dispersal into the islands of the Indo-Pacific . From 2000 BCE they assimilated (or were assimilated by)
4307-464: The oil is used as an aphrodisiac lubricant ( sande ka tel ). Consuming raw blood and flesh of monitor lizards has been reported to cause eosinophilic meningoencephalitis , as some monitors are hosts for the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis . "Large-scale exploitation" of monitor lizards is undertaken for their skins, which are described as being "of considerable utility" in the leather industry. In Papua New Guinea , monitor lizard leather
4380-456: The past. In the Spanish–American War , Spain lost many of its remaining colonies. In the Pacific, the United States took possession of the Spanish Philippines and Guam. On 17 January 1899, the United States also took possession of unclaimed and uninhabited Wake Island. This left Spain with the remainder of the Spanish East Indies, about 6,000 tiny islands that were sparsely populated and not very productive. These islands were ungovernable after
4453-399: The population is decreasing globally. All but five species of monitor lizards are classified by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora under Appendix II, which is loosely defined as species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade in such species is subject to strict regulation to avoid use incompatible with
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#17330846005244526-403: The primary income is the sale of fishing rights to foreign nations that harvest tuna using huge purse seiners . A few Japanese long liners still ply the waters. The crews aboard fishing fleets contribute little to the local economy since their ships typically set sail loaded with stores and provisions that are cheaper than local goods. Additional money comes in from government grants, mostly from
4599-430: The primary source of individual income. Additional individual income comes mainly from government jobs and work within shops and restaurants. The tourist industry consists mainly of scuba divers that come to see the coral reefs, do wall dives and visit sunken ships from WWII. Major stops for scuba divers in approximate order are Palau, Chuuk, Yap and Pohnpei. Some private yacht owners visit the area for months or years at
4672-603: The pulmonary and systemic circuits, which in turn ensure that oxygenated blood is quickly distributed to the body without also flooding the lungs with high-pressure blood. Monitor lizards are oviparous , laying from seven to 38 eggs , which they often cover with soil or protect in a hollow tree stump. Some species, including the Komodo dragon, are capable of parthenogenesis . Anatomical and molecular studies indicate that all varanids (and possibly all lizards) are venomous . Unlike snakes, monitor lizard venom glands are situated in their lower jaw. The venom of monitor lizards
4745-417: The reef allow small boats access to the island. A fertile coastal strip 150 to 300 m (490 to 980 ft) wide lies inland from the beach. Wake Island is a coral atoll with a coastline of 19 km (12 mi) just north of the Marshall Islands . It is an unorganized , unincorporated territory of the United States. Access to the island is restricted and all activities on the island are managed by
4818-443: The region, most notably in the Northern Mariana Islands where they form the majority and smaller communities of Europeans who have migrated from the United States or are descendants of settlers during European colonial rule in Micronesia. Though they are all geographically part of the same region, they all have very different colonial histories. The US-administered areas of Micronesia have a unique experience that sets them apart from
4891-406: The rest of the Pacific. Micronesia has great economic dependency on its former or current motherlands, something only comparable to the French Pacific. Sometimes, the term American Micronesia is used to acknowledge the difference in cultural heritage. A 2011 survey found that 93.1% of Micronesian are Christians ; a survey in 2022 showed that 99% were Christian. It is thought that ancestors of
4964-400: The shape of the skull and limbs do vary, and are strongly related to the ecology of each species. Monitor lizards maintain large territories and employ active-pursuit hunting techniques that are reminiscent of similar-sized mammals. The active nature of monitor lizards has led to numerous studies on the metabolic capacities of these lizards. The general consensus is that monitor lizards have
5037-512: The slopes of a central volcano . When the volcano sinks back down into the sea, the coral continues to grow, keeping the reef at or above water level. One exception is Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia , which still has the central volcano and coral reefs around it. The Yap Islands host a number of endemic bird species, including the Yap monarch and the Olive white-eye , in addition to four other restricted-range bird species. The endangered Yap flying-fox , though often considered
5110-671: The subgenus Euprepriosaurus , but as of 2016, form their own subgenus Hapturosaurus . V. jobiensis was once considered to be a member of the V. indicus species complex, but is now considered to represent its own species complex. Genus Varanus Subgenus Empagusia : Subgenus Euprepiosaurus : Subgenus Hapturosaurus : Subgenus Odatria : Subgenus Papusaurus Subgenus Philippinosaurus : Subgenus Polydaedalus : Subgenus Psammosaurus : Subgenus Solomonsaurus : Micronesia Micronesia ( UK : / ˌ m aɪ k r ə ˈ n iː z i ə / , US : /- ˈ n iː ʒ ə / )
5183-410: The summits of fifteen volcanic mountains. The island chain arises as a result of the western edge of the Pacific Plate moving westward and plunging downward below the Mariana plate , a region that is the most volcanically active convergent plate boundary on Earth. The Marianas were politically divided in 1898, when the United States acquired title to Guam under the Treaty of Paris, 1898 , which ended
5256-561: The survival of the species in the wild. The remaining five species – the Bengal , yellow , desert , and clouded monitors and the Komodo Dragon– are classified under CITES Appendix I, which outlaws international commercial trade in the species. The yellow monitor is protected in all countries in its range except Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. In Kerala , Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , Telangana and all other parts of South India, catching or killing of monitor lizards
5329-495: Was made during the sixteenth century, although often initial encounters were very brief. Documents relating to the 1525 voyage of Diogo da Rocha suggest that he made the first European contact with inhabitants of the Caroline Islands, possibly staying on the Ulithi atoll for four months and encountering Yap . Marshall Islanders were encountered by the expedition of Spanish navigator Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón in 1529. Other contact with
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