© 2000 by The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
BOOK REVIEWS
1 Department of Biology Washington University Saint Louis, Missouri 63130 E-mail: pepin{at}biology.wustl.edu
Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. DENNIS KING AND BRIAN GREEN. Kreiger Publishing Company, Malabar, Florida, 2nd ed. 1999, vi + 128 pp., illus., plates, index. (ISBN 1-57524-112-9 paper, $22.50.)
Few groups of reptiles have received as much attention from researchers as the fascinating monitor lizards, which include the largest living lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). The authors do a thorough job of reviewing the wide breadth of different types of studies for this group, bringing together an interesting book that should be useful to advanced herpetological hobbyists, students, and researchers alike. Both authors are widely recognized as leaders in the field of varanid research. Dennis King began his interest in monitor lizards with his Ph.D. thesis on V. rosenbergi populations of South Australia over 30 years ago, and has made excellent contributions in both the ecology and phylogenetics of monitors. Brian Green has been following the Kangaroo Island V. rosenbergi in a long-term demographic study, as well as, focusing on the physiology and energetics of a wide variety of varanid species. Together these authors rely on their intimate knowledge of these lizards to provide an insightful reference for the general biology of varanids.
The book contains 11 chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue, and an extensive suggested reading list. The book is filled with figures, tables, and nice illustrations, and also provides 21 beautiful color plates of various monitor species. Topics covered in the chapters include an introduction, taxonomy and phylogeny, feeding, reproduction, general behavior, thermal biology, respiration, water use, energy and food, parasites, and conservation. These chapters cover information on as many monitor species as possible from the wild but mainly focus on the well studied V. rosenbergi, comparing this species with the others when possible. Each chapter contains an up-to-date survey of the research for the given topic with the references listed by chapter in the suggested reading. The book will be invaluable to monitor enthusiasts for the nine pages of references in the suggested reading alone.
This book is an updated second edition of the 1993 Australian publication Goanna (King and Green, 1993
). One of the changes in the new edition is the replacement of the Australian common name "goanna" with the more widely used names ‘monitor’ or ‘varanid,’ but all three are used interchangeably throughout the text. Other changes include the addition of a new chapter on parasites and a new section on foraging strategy. Monitor lizards host a wide range of both external and internal parasites making them a good group to study various aspects of parasitism. The new foraging strategy section discusses evidence that monitors are an especially intelligent group of lizards with good memories. The evidence for this comes in part from a study that argues one monitor species can distinguish among groups of snails containing numbers of up to six individuals. The other pre-existing chapters have been updated since the previous edition and include some new studies on taxonomy and ecological physiology. However, the chapters among the two editions remain largely quite similar.
The authors of the book excel at describing anatomical and physiological characteristics both common to lizards or specific to varanids in relatively simple and easy to understand terms. For example, in the chapter on water use, the complex role of the cloacal chamber called the coprodaeum in water resorption from urine is nicely explained. The explanation is supported by two figures, one of the cloacal structure and the other of a histological cross-section of the coprodaeum showing the fine structure of the villi. The text also does a good job highlighting how varanids are unique from other lizard groups in many aspects of their anatomy and physiology. One such difference discussed is the various alterations to the varanid respiration system that allow them to rely much more on aerobic respiration than most other reptiles.
This book is successful in its primary goal of bringing together the most interesting studies of varanid research from the primary literature into a single readable text. The coverage of research is extensive enough that it should be useful to researchers, but the book is written for a more general audience making it suitable as a supplementary text for a general zoology or herpetology course. I would also recommend this book for researchers interested in the consequences of allometry or an active foraging lifestyle on the biology of organisms. Overall, this text provides a detailed look into many aspects of the biology of monitor lizards, which will hopefully stimulate more research on this fascinating group of lizards.
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King, D., and B. Green. 1993. Goanna: The Biology of Varanid Lizards., New South Wales University Press, Kensington, New South Wales.
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