THE MINNESOTA HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY Volume 20 Number 6
June 2000 Newsletter
Upcoming Meeting The Vice-president's Report By Tony Gamble
June General Meeting Program: "Monitor lizards: An Overview of Varanids of the World"
Guest Speaker: John Hogston Monitor lizards (Genus Varanus) have long been neglected by biologists despite their economic importance (both as pest control and as a source of meat and leather) and their natural diversity. As a group, monitors have existed for at least seventy million years and occur on three continents. They range in size from about nine inches long and a weight of less than one ounce (Varat/us brevicauda) to a length of over ten feet (Varanus saIvator) and a weight of almost 120 pounds (Varanus komodoensis). Monitors live in the driest deserts and the wettest rainforests as well as grassland, swamps, rivers and seashores, woodlands.
species are being discovered every year. To help update us on many of these current advances and to discuss his own work with monitor lizards is our july speaker, john Hogston. john has been keeping and studying monitors for over 20 years and has been breeding them for the last eight He is the president and founder of the International Varanid Association (formerly the Northern Ohio Varanid Association) as well as a member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. This will be an excellent program, I hope to see you there. . Upcoming Meetings: Aug 4, 2000 - TBA Sept 8, 2000 - Dr. Fred janzen "Sexdetermining Mechanisms in Reptiles" Oct 6, 2000 - Dr. Robert Powell " Adventures in the Caribbean: Herpetology on Tropical Islands." Nov 3, 2000 - Phil Tremper llBreeding Rare Geckos ff
Reminder The Next Meeting is July 7.
Who wants to be a Librarian? Newsletter Folding Chair? Newsletter Editor? After many years Karin and james Rea will be stepping down as Ubrarian and Newsletter Folding Chairperson. If you are interested in one of these positions contact Karin or james to find out what the job is or contact Bill Moss and let him know you are interested. Depending on how the votes go on the Bylaw changes, I will be stepping down as Newsletter Editor in either December or March. If you are interested in running for Newsletter Editor in the next election but are unsure of what is involved with the duties please feel free to contact me either at one of the General Meetings or by phone or Email. I've had a lot of fun doing the newsletter but feel it is definitely time for a change.-
Nancy Haig, Newsletter Editor.
Monitors have also been ignored by many serious herpetoculturisls. In the United States, it has only been the last ten years or so that have seen progress in monitor husbandry and breeding. Captive-bred monitor lizards are still by no means commonly available, particularly to those on a budget All of this, though, is changing. The next few years will see an increase in kinds of species and numbers of captive born monitors available to herpetoculturists. There is also a growing amount of literature concerning monitor biology and new
The Two-way Tortoise went extinct before it could even figure out if it was coming or going.