Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
Varanus insulanicus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Groote Eylandt monitor (Varanus insulanicus), also known commonly as the Black-Spotted Ridge-Tailed Goanna, is a medium-sized species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to the Northern Territory. It belongs to the subgenus Odatria. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-spotted Ridge-tailed Monitor sighting in Kakadu National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 54 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-spotted Ridge-tailed Monitor in Kakadu National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May and September–November, the lowest months. That is one of Kakadu National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain against almost none in August.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-spotted Ridge-tailed Monitor sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Kakadu National Park, in our data
Kakadu National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black-spotted Ridge-tailed Monitor sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Varanus
The closest relatives of the Black-spotted Ridge-tailed Monitor that you can see in Kakadu National Park (genus Varanus, Monitor Lizards) are Argus Monitor (about 30%), Mertens's Water Monitor (about 30%) and Black-headed Monitor (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-spotted Ridge-tailed Monitor is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kakadu National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
