Humboldt monitor

Among the lizards of Earth monitors are maybe the most successful in the galactic race. Several species will one day inhabit many worlds.
But their first extrasolar triumph was Nea were they are present with Varanus salvator, Varanus varius and Varanus griseus. The first two species haven't changed during the first centuries of colonization but Varanus griseus showed some remarkable adaptations. Most notable is maybe their change from a mostly solitary to an colony living creature. On Earth this species already dig deep burrows but the neanean Humboldt monitor lives in labyrinths up to 5 meters deep and build but sometimes 30 specimens. Members of a colony are often hunting in couples and keep each other warm in the colder nights, they also often sit together in the sun in the morning before going hunting. V. g. grex is a bit smaller than the terrestrial variation but eat as much as it's earthly counterpart. Small mammals, other reptiles, sometimes birds and their nests and even a few amphibians are on their menu. sometimes they also eat the flowers and fruits of cacti and they don't say no to some larger insects and other arthropods. 

Humboldt monitors mate all year but mostly with members of other colonies, the eggs are burrowed near the colony of the female but the parents ignore their eggs mostly and only in especially harsh years they will dig out the eggs to get back the proteins. The juveniles first stay solitary and later become members  of a colony, in most cases the colony of the mom or the dad but up to 25% find their home in a different community.

Humboldt monitors are also often guests in villages and even cities, here they feast on the rodents which follow humans even through space and the waste of the colonists.

These guys are pretty successful in the semiarid ti arid regions and they still continue to expand their distribution range.

Nea: hyrotrioskjan.deviantart.com/a…