Welcome to You Ask Andy

 Dennis Hensei, Age 12, Of Lititz, Pa., for his question

What is a monitor?

The monitor shared the earth with the dinosaurs and was here in North America When these bulky cousins of his left the world forever. Fossil remains of the Monitor which date back 60 million years have been found in our western mountains. He no longer lives here, but his ancestors shared the new world with eohippus, the little dawn horse.

The monitor belongs in the class reptilis, which means that he is a cold blooded reptile. His sub order is sauria, the impressive line which produced the amazing Dinosaurs and the various lizards that live in the modern world. The monitor himself is a cold blooded, scaly skinned, back boned lizard. The biggest monitor looks like a survivor of the dinosaurs that ruled the world in the age of reptiles.

Sixty million years ago, when the world climate was warm and humid, the monitor lived in many lands. Later, the balmy climate became harsher, and the monitor deserted the temperate zones for the tropics. Today he survives in Africa, asia and Australia. The largest monitor   largest of the living lizards   lives on komodo and a few other lonely islands of Indonesia. He is the breathtaking komodo dragon, 10 feet long.

About 27 species of monitor are classed in a family of their own, for they have differences which set them apart from the other lizards. These members of the family Vatanidae are long, snaky fellows with sturdy legs, and the smallest of them is eight to 10 inches long. Like certain snakes, they have forked tongues which constantly dart in and out to sample the various tastes and smells of the air.

One of the monitors of Africa shares the muddy Nile with his reptile relative, the crocodile. He is six feet long and always hungry. The female lays her eggs in a termite's nest where they incubate in a steady climate of heat and humidity for almost 10 months. The parents are drab, brownish gray; the youngsters have yellow rings around their tails and yellow freek1es on their scaly bodies.   The komodo dragon was unknown to science until 1912. His lonely islands between Borneo and Australia were off the usual trade routes. What's more, he is a shy creature. He scuttles close to the ground, trying to hide his long body among the tall grasses, rocks and scrubs of his native territory. But he is always hungry, and from time to time he stands up on his hind legs to survey the scenery hoping to spot a Deer or a nesting bird, a rodent or a wild pig.

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