He is most famous for The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor in 1981, for which he received the Best Wildlife Book Award from The Wildlife Society.[6] Several living and fossil species, including the peacock monitor (Varanus auffenbergi) were named for him.[7][8] Advances in Monitor Research II, the proceedings of a symposium on monitor lizards held in 1997, is dedicated to Auffenberg "in recognition of his outstanding contributions to monitor lizard biology".[9]