<P> The generic name Varanus is derived from the Arabic waral (ورل), which translates as "monitor". The specific name is the Latin word for "saviour", denoting a possible religious connotation . The water monitor is occasionally confused with the crocodile monitor (V. salvadorii) because of their similar scientific names . </P> <P> In Thailand, the local word for a water monitor, hia (เหี้ย), is used as an insulting word for bad and evil things, including bad persons . The word is also thought to bring bad luck, so some people prefer to call the animals' silver - and - gold' (ตัว เงิน ตัว ทอง) to avoid the jinx . </P> <P> The origin of this offensive meaning can be traced back to a time when more people lived in rural areas in close proximity to monitor lizards . Traditionally, Thai villagers lived in two - story houses; the top floor was for living, while the ground floor was designed to be a space for domestic animals such as pigs, chickens, and dogs . Water monitors would enter the ground floor and eat or maim the domestic animals, also hence the other name dtua gin gai (ตัว กิน ไก่' chicken eater') or nong chorakae (น้อง จระเข้' younger brother of crocodile',' little crocodile') and even sometimes called ta kuat (ตะกวด), which in fact refers to a Bengal monitor (V. bengalensis), a different species . </P> <P> In Indonesian and Malay, the water monitor is called biawak air, to differentiate it from the biawak pasir ("sand lizard"), Leiolepis belliana . </P>

How long can asian water monitors hold their breath