[3] The venom is an anticoagulant, and has two known mechanisms for disrupting blood clotting: by fibrinogenolysis (the destructive cleavage of fibrinogen) and by blocking platelet aggregation.

Monitor lizard venom is extremely complex and diverse due to the great range of ecological niches that they occupy.

This may be because arboreal monitor species experience strong selection pressure to quickly subjugate prey items before they break free and escape by falling out of the trees or flying away.

As fibrinogenolytic activity is not painful, the venom likely has a primarily predatory role in subjugating prey, instead of acting as a predator deterrent.

[4] It is suggested that higher prey escape potential may cause increased venom potency, as the lethally toxic eastern green mamba and boomslang are also arboreal.