Varanus griseus (Daudin, 1803).

Length up to 460 mm. A large lizard with an elongated body, long neck, and long whip-like tail; the limbs are sturdy. The color is greyish-yellow with irregular, more or less distinct, narrow, brown transverse bars on the back and more regular bars on the tail. Monitors are the only lizards with forked, snake-like tongues. The Desert Monitor inhabits sandy areas, gravel plains, firm areas between sand dunes, and rock outcrops. It excavates burrows that may extend up to 2 m below the ground. It is diurnal and predatory, and it feeds on scorpions, grasshoppers, frogs, lizards, snakes, small birds, and rodents. The female lays 5-20 eggs; the incubation lasts for up to 10 months. In Egypt, it is found in the Western and Eastern Deserts and Sinai. Globally, it extends over much of North Africa and Southwestern Asia. This large lizard is fairly common and widespread throughout its range.