Common name: Desert Monitor (الورل الصحراوي)
Scientific name: Varanus griseus
Family: Varanidae

Size:
Body length: 80–120 cm (including tail)
Tail length: Approximately equal to body length
Weight: 1.5–3.5 kg

Identification:
A large desert lizard with a long, muscular body, powerful limbs, and a long tapering tail. Coloration is usually sandy beige to light brown with darker banding across the back and tail. The head is elongated with a forked tongue used for sensing chemical cues in the environment. Well adapted to extreme desert temperatures.

Habitat:
Deserts, semi-deserts, gravel plains, and sandy dunes. Commonly found in open arid landscapes with burrows for shelter. Often seen near wadis and sparsely vegetated areas.

Status in the UAE:
Native and widely distributed across desert habitats in the UAE. Frequently observed in protected desert reserves and remote sandy areas.

Diet:
Carnivorous — feeds on rodents, reptiles, birds, eggs, insects, and carrion. An opportunistic predator with strong jaws and sharp claws for digging and capturing prey.

Behavior:
Primarily diurnal, especially active during warmer months. Excellent digger, often creating deep burrows for thermoregulation and protection. Can run quickly when threatened and may hiss or whip its tail defensively. Solitary and territorial.

Conservation status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)