Mertens' monitor is a semi-aquatic lizard from Australia. It spends a lot of time in rivers and lakes, swims well and dives.
Mertens' monitor differs from other monitors in that it spends a lot of time in the water and swims excellently. It helps maintain balance in nature by eating sick and weak animals near the water.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Worker
Tail size
birth time
vertebrates
ambush
live adult frogs and toads
pursuit
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
Tongue size
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
very hot and very humid all year round, rain almost every day
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
active hunting
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
adult
Maturity
Melon
invertebrates
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
egg
results
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
live fish
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
Tail count
diurnal
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
tongue
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Hot, little precipitation in winter
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
world of Australasia
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
animals with backbone
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Rapidly swallows prey or food items whole without chewing.
Regeneration
What do they look like?
Maturity
scavenging
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
hot, there is a dry season, trees shed their leaves
crepuscular
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
Produces toxins capable of causing harm when delivered.
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
fish
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gulping
Egg count
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Tropical dry broadleaf forest
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
whole swallow
{name} jubilee
Claws count
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
Claws size
turns
islands and part of Australia, many unusual animals and plants
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
Tail color
olfaction
fruit
Forages on tree limbs or woody stems within vegetation.
after fast growth and adult
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Egg color
Where are they found?
from 0.8 to 1.2 kilograms, 0.6 – 1.2 meters
all rivers and lakes
Low precipitation in winter
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
Foraging takes place among trees and woody vegetation.
Actively chases and captures mobile prey in open space.
age
Predator remains still and concealed before launching a sudden attack.
birth date
small mammals — mice, shrews, bats
swimming
tearing
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
climbing
Venomous
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
Body size
Rips or shreds food using teeth, beak or claws.
islands and part of Australia, many unusual animals and plants
aquatic
small mammals
vision
{name} birthday
Always hot
No results found
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
Tongue count
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Body count
How similar?
Egg size
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
from birth to death
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
branch
Freshwater
Duration
live insects
Always hot and wet
This is me
claws
freshwater
Gamers
How are they built?
frogs and toads
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Scales color
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
world of Australasia
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Uses the tongue to locate, manipulate, or ingest food items.
Primarily detects and locates food using eyesight.
embryo
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
arboreal
Observations
◉{N} more on tap