Rating of the largest lizards. What are the names of the species of the largest and smallest lizards? The largest monitor lizard

IN prehistoric times The earth was inhabited by dinosaurs, foot-and-mouth diseases and mammoths. Climate change and evolution led to their extinction, but quite recently scientists discovered in distant Indonesia a lizard of monstrous size, which local residents called a dragon.

Amazing discovery

In 1912, a group of scientists exploring Komodo Island in Pacific Ocean, came across a wondrous monster that looked like a lizard, only huge size. Having caught one specimen with the help of Aboriginal hunters, they began to study the “dragon” in earnest.

The monster in fact turned out to be a representative of cold-blooded reptiles. According to its species characteristics, the reptile is classified as a monitor lizard. According to the place where it was found, it was called the Komodo (Komodo) or Indonesian monitor lizard. Average length reptiles – 2.5-2.8 m, and weight – up to 90 kg. This is the longest lizard on the planet. It is one of the ten largest animals on the planet. In 1937, at an exhibition in the city of San Lewis in Missouri (USA), a record specimen measuring more than 3 meters long and weighing 166 kg was presented.

Description of appearance

The Komodos “monster” resembles a hybrid of a giant lizard and a crocodile. It has a developed jaw full of sharp teeth, short thick legs and a strong tail that equal to length torso. In adults, the color is dark brown with yellow speckles, while in young animals the skin has a brighter shade with light spots, sometimes turning into stripes.

Males are much larger than females, they are also stronger and more aggressive.

The largest lizard, due to its size, seems clumsy, but this is a deceptive impression. On its short legs, it reaches a speed of more than 20 km/h, is jumping, easily rises on its hind legs, leaning on its powerful tail, and swims well over long distances. Young lizards deftly climb trees.

The giant is distinguished by its vigilance, excellent hearing and amazing sense of smell. Its olfactory organs are located on its forked tongue, and thanks to them, the Indonesian monitor lizard can smell prey at a distance of 5 km! This is a kind of record in the animal world.

Studying “dragons,” scientists determined their age potential to be 50 years, although no one has yet met a monitor lizard older than 25 years.

Lifestyle

The most big lizard in the world leads a daytime lifestyle and sleeps at night. Like any cold-blooded animal, it does not tolerate temperature changes well, so it hides in the shade during the day and hunts in the morning and evening. Selects dry and sunny flat terrain or savannas. It lives in burrows up to 5 meters deep, and young foot-and-mouth mosquitoes prefer tree hollows.

These “land crocodiles” are loners. They gather in groups of several individuals only in mating season or while eating carrion together. At the same time, the hierarchy is clearly observed in the pack. Young strong males dominate, while old men, young people and females are pushed into the background.

In its habitat, foot and mouth disease is at the top of the food chain, so it has no enemies, except that very young individuals can be threatened by snakes or large predator birds.

The victims of the Komodo reptile are large animals such as deer, buffalo, horses, wild boars, and goats. On hungry days, it does not disdain small rodents, birds, frogs, crabs, fish, even insects. There are cases of cannibalism when seasoned monitor lizards eat weaker relatives.

Dangerous predator

How does the longest lizard hunt? Most often, it attacks from an ambush, knocks down the victim with a strong blow of its tail, breaking its legs, and inflicts a laceration with its teeth. After this it releases the prey. The animal dies itself within a few hours or days from poison and blood poisoning, since the saliva of the largest reptile is teeming with toxic bacteria. During the research, scientists identified 57 different strains in her mouth, including anthrax. Each of the bacteria in itself is very dangerous, and their bouquet, entering the blood, leaves the victim no chance. After being bitten by a Komodo dragon, death occurs in 99 out of 100 cases.

Giant foot-and-mouth diseases, smelling rot and blood, come running to the feast. They feed mainly on carrion. They very rarely tear apart prey that is still alive. These reptiles are capable of tearing off and swallowing large pieces of meat, in which they are helped by extremely sharp teeth, a powerful jaw and a stretchable stomach-bag.

Interestingly, the pus and infections of a dead animal do not harm monitor lizards, which have incredible immunity. On the contrary, they only enrich the harmful microflora of their oral cavity.

Indonesian predators can also attack people. If you do not receive medical help within a couple of hours after the bite, then death from sepsis is inevitable. There have been several documented cases of monitor lizards attacking children. It is better for women not to visit the Indonesian islands during their period, as the smell of blood excites the hunting instinct of monitor lizards, which makes them very dangerous.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in these reptiles occurs very late - only at 9-10 years of age. In July-August, all sexually mature individuals gather together. Since there are 4 times more males in the population than females, mating is preceded by mating fights. The strongest one wins and gets the female.

After mating, she digs a deep hole where she lays 20-25 eggs. The lizard protects the clutch for 8 months. But when the monitor lizards hatch, she immediately leaves them. Cubs survive thanks to a strong natural instinct of self-preservation. Most They spend time in trees, escaping from enemies, feeding on small animals and bird eggs.

Monitor lizards have such a feature as the ability to lay eggs without prior fertilization. In this case, 100% of the lizards hatch are male.

Dragons also need protection

Unique Creatures distributed over a very narrow range. They are found only on a few Indonesian islands - Komodo, Gili Motang, Flores, Rinca. A total of 5,000 of these were discovered. giant lizards. According to scientists, their numbers are slowly but steadily declining due to the development of the islands by people and poaching. To protect this unique look was created in 1980 National Park"Komodo", where excursions are organized.

The animals are listed in the Red Book; hunting them is prohibited. The law says that even if a reptile attacks a person - an adult or a child, it cannot be killed! The “dragon” must be scared away, then professional huntsmen must be called to find this monster and transport it to the other end of the island.

To control the population of Komodo dragons, a special campaign was carried out, during which all found reptiles had a chip implanted in their hind paw. That's how they were counted. Experts emphasize that the largest lizard in the world will survive only in natural environment, for which it is necessary to limit the settlement of people on the islands.

Man has studied seemingly all living beings on the planet. But to this day, scientists find and describe new previously unstudied species of animals and plants. For example, the class Reptiles added a hundred new species in 2010. Among them there are both large lizards, for example, Varanus bitatawa, reaching 2 meters in length, and rather inconspicuous ones - Cyrtopodion golubevi with a body length of about 43−59 mm and a tail of 53−79 mm.

Reptiles are divided into 4 orders

Classification of reptiles

According to traditional scientific classification the class Reptiles (Reptiles) includes four modern units:

• Testudines - Turtles;
• Crocodilia - Crocodiles;
• Rhynchocephalia - Beaked heads;
• Squamata - Scaly.

The last order (Scaly) is divided into suborders. Among them:

• Serpentes - Snakes;
• Amphisbaenia - Amphisbaenia (two-walkers);
• Lacertilia - Lizards;
• Chamaeleonia - Chameleons.

More than 9 thousand species of animals belonging to the class of Reptiles are known in the world. More than 6 thousand of them are species classified in the suborder Lizards, which include:

• infraorder monitor lizards (Varanoidea);
• infraorder spindle-shaped (Anguimorpha);
• infraorder gecko-like (Gekkota);
• infraorder iguana (Iguania);
• infraorder skinks (Scincomorpha).

Features and appearance

Some species of lizards have significant differences in appearance, habitat and habits, while others are difficult to distinguish from each other or even from representatives of other classes. Spindle lizards can be classified as snakes at first glance, and representatives of the vermiform family are similar in appearance to earthworms. However, most still have limbs, and their appearance leaves no doubt about their belonging to the suborder.

Interesting distinctive feature Many species of lizards discard part of their tail.

This phenomenon is called autotomy - the ability to independently discard any organ or limb. This usually happens in extreme unfavorable conditions, in case of threat to life or other danger.

By contracting special muscles in certain areas, the tail vertebrae are broken and damaged blood vessels are compressed, thereby preventing bleeding. After a certain time, the tissues regenerate, and the discarded limb is restored. Most often, the regrown tail becomes slightly shorter than the discarded one.

Big and small

The smallest lizards in the world are the Haraguana sphero (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) and the Virginia round-toed gecko (Sphaerodactylus parthenopion), living in the Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic. These animals weigh about 0.2 g, and their body length is 16-19 mm.

The Komodo dragon is considered the largest representative of the suborder in the world. This large lizard is also called the giant Indonesian monitor lizard, Komodo monitor lizard, Komodo dragon, and the natives of the Indonesian islands call it “ora” or “buaya darat”, which means “land crocodile”. Adult representatives of this species can reach three meters in length and weigh up to 90 kg.

These giant reptiles were first discovered in 1912 on the Indonesian island of Komodo. And to this day, their habitat occupies an impressive area there, although scientists have established that the ancestors of this species lived in Australia.

The Komodo dragon is an excellent swimmer, runner and even climber. Monitor lizards, while obtaining food or in search of a secluded place to rest and spend the night, can also climb trees. These huge lizards are diurnal, waking up at dawn and going out to hunt with the first rays of the sun. During the daytime they prefer to hide from the scorching sun in the shade.

Monitor lizards eat a variety of foods. Depending on its age, the Komodo dragon can hunt insects, fish, rodents, turtles, crabs and many other living creatures. Having reached a weight of 20 kilograms, adult individuals are able to hunt larger animals (wild boars, deer), and subsequently buffaloes, cattle, and horses. They can feed on carrion.

What helps the Komodo dragon hunt is not only its huge, sharp teeth and powerful jaws, with which they easily tear apart prey. It was recently discovered that the bite of Komodo dragons is poisonous. Previously, the danger of bites from these lizards was associated with pathogenic microflora in the mouth that entered the victim’s wound. The spreading infection gradually kills the victim, and the monitor lizards patiently pursue the animal and wait until big catch will be so exhausted by the disease that she will not be able to resist.

Scientists have now established that monitor lizards have a poison that gradually kills the victim. And these large reptiles are rightfully considered not only the largest lizards on Earth, but also the largest poisonous creatures.

Domestic lizards

Lizards are quite popular pets. The variety of species allows you to choose them for home care for every taste. Based on the desires and capabilities of the owner, they can be huge or small, herbivores or eat live food, capable of contact with humans or live in their own closed terrarium.

To keep a reptile you need certain knowledge

Names of the largest lizards for home keeping:

• Striped monitor lizard. One of largest representatives, in nature can reach a body length of 250-300 cm and weigh more than 20 kg.
• The Nile monitor lizard can weigh from 5 to 10 kilograms and have a body length of 150-170 cm. Females are smaller in size and, on average, weigh about 3 kg with a length of 135 cm.
• Common iguana. Quite a common type for home maintenance. They can grow up to 150 cm.
• Tegus are lizards measuring 1−1.4 m.
• Cape steppe monitor lizard. Adults of this species can be from 60 cm to 1.5 meters in length. Females are slightly smaller than males.

But representatives that are not so dangerous and do not grow to gigantic sizes are more popular for home keeping. For example:

• has dimensions from 50 to 60 cm;
• spotted leopard gecko with a body length of 25 to 30 cm;
• felsuma grows up to 30 cm;
• toki - a lizard with dimensions up to 35 cm;
• The blue-tongued skink can reach 60 cm in length, but in most cases the body length does not exceed 45 cm.

Pets must be provided with suitable food, and it is also necessary to create light and thermal conditions in the terrarium. The terrarium itself must be designed according to the characteristics of each species.

The decision to choose one of the representatives of the reptile class as a pet should be balanced. It is also worth assessing financial possibilities, since keeping a lizard, especially a large one, can be quite expensive. Caring for such a pet requires time to provide the animal with comfortable conditions existence. Representatives of many species are quite friendly and proper care can be domesticated to some extent by humans.

In this video you will learn more about lizards:

He moves 4 times faster than a human, from the start developing a speed of 18 km/h. And this with a three-meter body and tail - it’s not for nothing that the Komodo dragon has the status of the most big lizard in the world.

Reptiles do not need to eat regularly to survive - once a month is enough for this. She sees her prey 300 meters away. He doesn’t particularly exhaust himself with hunting - there is no prey on the horizon, he will ruin human burials.

Ora the crocodile

Komodo dragon- a reptile from the order of squamates. It received the status of the largest lizard in the world for its enormous size:

• length – 2.5-3 m;
• weight – 100-150 kg.

Scientists discovered the reptile on Komodo Island only in 1912. Several years earlier, local residents had repeatedly said that they had seen a dragon. They called it "ora" and "land crocodile".

Appearance

Male monitor lizards are 1.5 times larger than females - the sex of reptiles can only be identified by this characteristic.

Lizards have long, flattened heads, and their muzzles are elongated and rounded. The eyes are large, located on both sides of the head. The ears are large, but monitor lizards' hearing is imperfect - they cannot identify a low voice.

The jaws and throat of the largest lizard are so flexible that it swallows huge pieces of meat in a split second. Movable lower jaw and the stomach expands so much that the adult swallows the pig completely. This feature explains the impressive weight of the reptiles.

But there is another feature - the monitor lizard will easily vomit the contents of the stomach as soon as it senses danger. He will decrease in size and weight and hide from his pursuers.

The legs of the reptiles are bent - because of this, the bulky carcass seems pressed to the ground. Their claws are sharp, as befits predators. Large teeth are curved so as to dig deep into the victim and tear it to pieces.

The body of an adult monitor lizard is covered with bone chain mail - it gives the reptiles a resemblance to stones. The younger generation of lizards have brighter colors - green, blue, orange.

Food

The giant lizard is a predator, and accordingly, feeds on the meat of its victims. She dominates, attacking any animals and not disdaining carrion. Their diet contains:

• pigs;
• deer;
• lizards;
• buffalos.

Juveniles feed on insects and snakes, and sometimes catch birds.

Hunting

Reptiles identify prey long before the hunt begins, sniffing the air and analyzing the odors in it. For this purpose, nature has endowed predators with a forked tongue, with which they taste the air and feel the taste of the animal or carrion, their location.

At this time, future prey can be located at a distance of up to 4 km from the monitor lizard - it will pick up its smell and direction if the wind is fair.

Patience is one of the virtues of the heaviest lizard in the world. She lies in wait for prey for hours, sometimes for days. As soon as the animal is nearby, the reptile attacks it, breaking its legs with its powerful tail.

The victim is doomed - an attempt to escape leads to the fact that a huge camouflage carcass will tear it apart until it goes limp. After which the monitor lizard will exhale and rip open the belly of the prey to drain the blood. Only then will he begin to swallow the meat.

Toxicity

A few victims manage to escape, but they do not live long. There are more than 50 types of bacteria in reptile saliva, and the jaw glands are poisonous. When a giant lizard attacks a pig or other artiodactyls, a secretion is released into its saliva. The protein in the secretion is toxic - it paralyzes muscles, disrupts blood clotting, and sharply reduces blood pressure and body temperature.

The animal suffers from several hours to several days, depending on immunity and the degree of blood poisoning, and then dies. All this time the monitor lizard follows the traces of his sense of smell behind the victim. Once she dies, he eats the carrion. Not even a tenth of the carcass remains - the stomach of reptiles is designed in such a way that it easily digests bones and skin.

Reproduction

The mating season for the most large lizards starts in May and ends in August. Two males can fight for a female - the winner gets it. After mating games the female lays up to 30 eggs, and the male guards the territory.

Monitor lizards are born weighing about 100 g and no more than 40 cm long. For the first 4 years they live in trees, escaping from predators. Among the latter may be their parents, because there is no evidence that adult reptiles care for their offspring.

The young individual, sensing danger, makes itself unpalatable to the lizards. To do this, she collapses in own feces – known fact that monitor lizards avoid their excrement.

Where do they live?

The reptiles live on Komodo and 4 neighboring islands. They are comfortable in deciduous and tropical forests, and reptiles cannot stand heat. At temperatures above +36 degrees they hide in burrows. They bask in burrows if the temperature drops below +33-34 degrees.

Giant lizards avoid meeting people, and people are prohibited from hunting them, because the exotic reptiles are under state protection.

A lizard is an animal that belongs to the class reptiles (reptiles), order Squamate, suborder lizards. In Latin, the suborder of lizards is called Lacertilia, previously the name was Sauria.

The reptile got its name from the word “lizard,” which comes from the Old Russian word “skora,” meaning “skin.”

The largest lizard in the world is the Komodo dragon

The smallest lizard in the world

The smallest lizards in the world are the Haraguan sphero (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) and the Virginia round-toed gecko (Sphaerodactylus parthenopion). The size of the babies does not exceed 16-19 mm, and the weight reaches 0.2 grams. These cute and harmless reptiles live in the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands.

Where do lizards live?

Various species of lizards live on all continents except Antarctica. Representatives of reptiles familiar to Russia are real lizards that live almost everywhere: they can be found in fields, forests, steppes, gardens, mountains, deserts, near rivers and lakes. All types of lizards move well on any surface, firmly clinging to all kinds of bulges and irregularities. Rock species of lizards are excellent jumpers; the jump height of these mountain inhabitants reaches 4 meters.

Large predators, such as monitor lizards, hunt small animals - snakes, their own kind, and also happily eat the eggs of birds and reptiles. The Komodo dragon, the largest lizard in the world, attacks wild boars and even for buffalo and deer. The moloch lizard feeds exclusively, while the pink-tongued skink eats only terrestrial mollusks. Some large iguanas and skink lizards are almost entirely vegetarian, their menu consisting of ripe fruits, leaves, flowers and pollen.

Lizards in nature are extremely careful and agile; they approach their intended prey furtively, and then attack with a swift dash and capture the prey in their mouths.

Komodo monitor lizard eating buffalo

Do you believe in the existence of dragons? If not, then be sure to read our article. It may shake your confidence. Indeed, in fact, on the distant island of Komodo there lives such a large lizard that the locals confidently call it a dragon. And not only locals. The name “Komodo dragon” is scientific and is also used by professionals.

You will learn about how the largest lizards in the world live from our material.

Historical reference

These giants were first discovered in 1912 on Komodo Island. It’s easy to guess that this has something to do with the name of the large lizard.

Since then, these creatures have been the object scientific research. Scientists have found that the evolutionary history of this species is connected with Australia. From a historical ancestor Varanus separated about 40 million years ago and emigrated to this remote continent. For some time, giants lived in Australia and nearby islands. Later, for various reasons, monitor lizards were pushed to the islands of Indonesia, where they settled. Scientists suggest that this is due to changes in topography and seismic activity. Komodo Island itself, by the way, is also of volcanic origin. It is worth noting that the resettlement of bloodthirsty giants to the islands saved many representatives Australian fauna from complete destruction. The large lizard has conquered new territories and dominates there to this day.

Appearance

How big can a Komodo dragon reach? It’s hard to imagine, but the Komodo dragon lizard is comparable in size to a young crocodile.

Scientists took measurements of a sample of 12 individuals and described them external features. The monitor lizards studied reached a length of 2.25-2.6 meters, and their weight was 25-59 kilograms. But these figures are average. Several much more outstanding cases have been recorded and described. The length of some lizards reaches 3 or even more meters, and the largest known specimen weighed more than one and a half centners.

The skin of the monitor lizard is dark green, rough, often covered with small yellowish spots and leathery spines. These animals have a powerful build, strong short legs with sharp claws. At first glance, powerful jaws with large teeth reveal this animal as a fierce predator. A long and mobile forked tongue completes the picture.

Features of the view

Despite its impressive dimensions and apparent clumsiness, the dragon lizard is an excellent swimmer, runner and climber. Komodo dragons are excellent tree climbers, can even swim to a neighboring island, and at short distances not a single potential victim can escape from them.

The Komodo dragon is not only an excellent tactician, but also a brilliant strategist. If this predator has its eye on a prey that is too large, it may use more than just brute force. Varan knows how to wait, he is able to trail behind a dying animal for weeks, anticipating the coming feast.

How do dragons live today?

The large lizard does not like the company of its relatives and avoids them. Monitor lizards lead a solitary lifestyle, and contact with their own kind only during the mating season. These contacts are by no means limited to love pleasures. Males wage bloody battles among themselves, disputing the rights to females and territories.

These predators are diurnal, sleep at night, and hunt at dawn. Like other reptiles, Komodo dragons are cold-blooded and do not tolerate temperature changes well. And from the scorching sun rays forced to hide in the shadows.

Birth of the Dragon

Many Interesting Facts about lizards are associated with the continuation of the species. After a bloody fight, which often ends with the death of one of the fighters, the winner receives the right to start a family. These animals do not form permanent families; in a year the ritual will be repeated.

The winner's chosen one lays about two dozen eggs. She guards the clutch for about eight months in order to small predators or even the closest relatives did not steal the eggs. But from birth, dragon children are deprived of maternal affection. Having hatched, they find themselves face to face with the harsh island reality and at first survive only thanks to the ability to hide.

Differences between monitor lizards of different sexes and ages

Sexual demorphism in these creatures is not very pronounced. Large sizes are characteristic of dragons of both sexes, but males are somewhat larger and more massive than females.

The cub is born inconspicuous, which helps it hide from predators and hungry relatives. Growing up, the large lizard acquires a rich color. The young have bright spots on their bright green skin, which fades with age.

Hunting

If you are interested in interesting facts about lizards, this issue requires the most careful study. On the islands there is no natural enemies, they can safely be called the top link of the food chain.

Monitor lizards hunt almost all of their neighbors. They even attack buffalos. Archaeologists who have established that the islands were inhabited several thousand years ago do not rule out that it was some species of large lizards, related to the modern Komodo dragon, that became the reason for their complete extermination.

Giant lizards do not disdain carrion. They happily feast on those thrown out by the sea. underwater inhabitants or the corpses of land animals. Cannibalism is also common.

Modern giants lead a solitary lifestyle, but when hunting they can spontaneously form bloodthirsty packs. And where their powerful muscles, teeth and claws are powerless, they use more sophisticated weapons that deserve special attention.

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About the behavioral features of these amazing creatures has been known for a long time. Scientists have found that monitor lizards sometimes bite their prey and then wander after it without showing aggression. The unfortunate animal has no chance, it weakens and slowly dies. It was once believed that the cause of the rapid spread of the deadly infection was the pathogenic microflora that settled in the oral cavity of monitor lizards while eating carrion.

But recent research has proven that this creature has poisonous glands. The venom of a monitor lizard is not as strong as that of some snakes; it cannot kill instantly. The victim dies gradually.

By the way, one more record is worth mentioning here. The Komodo dragon is not only the largest lizard in the world, but also the largest venomous creature.

Danger to people

The status of a rare species and mention in the Red Book raises the question of who is more dangerous to whom. Komodo dragons are rare species, hunting them is prohibited.

But one cannot count on reciprocal pacifism. There are known cases of monitor lizards attacking humans. If you do not go to the hospital in time, where the patient will be given comprehensive treatment, the poison will be neutralized and an antibiotic will be administered, there is a high risk fatal outcome. Monitor lizards are especially dangerous for children. They often attack human corpses, as a result of which it is customary on the island to protect graves with concrete slabs.

In general, humans and the largest lizard in the world coexist quite peacefully. On the islands of Komodo, Rincha, Gili Motang and Flores, unique parks are organized, where many tourists come every year to admire the unusual and amazing reptiles.