It is called the largest lizard in the world. The largest lizard in the world. Interesting facts about lizards. Description of the Komodo dragon

In prehistoric times, the Earth was inhabited by dinosaurs, foot-and-mouth disease and mammoths. Climate change and evolution led to their extinction, but more recently, scientists have discovered a monstrous lizard in distant Indonesia, which the locals call the dragon.

Amazing discovery

In 1912, a group of scientists exploring Komodo Island in the Pacific Ocean stumbled upon a marvelous monster resembling a lizard in appearance, only of huge size. Having caught one specimen with the help of aboriginal hunters, they came to grips with the study of the "dragon".

The monster actually turned out to be a representative of cold-blooded reptiles. According to species characteristics, the reptile is assigned to the group of monitor lizards. According to the place of discovery, it was called the Komodo (Komodos) or Indonesian monitor lizard. The average length of a reptile is 2.5-2.8 m, and its weight is 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 copy was presented, more than 3 meters long and weighing 166 kg.

Appearance description

Komodo "monster" resembles a hybrid of a giant lizard and a crocodile. He has a developed jaw full of sharp teeth, short thick legs and a strong tail, which is equal to the length of the body. 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 awkward, but this is a deceptive impression. On its short legs, it develops a speed of more than 20 km / h, jumping, easily rises on its hind legs, leaning on a powerful tail, and swims well for long distances. Young lizards deftly climb trees.

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

Studying the "dragons", scientists have determined their age potential at 50 years, although no one has yet met a monitor lizard older than 25 years.

Lifestyle

The largest lizard in the world is diurnal and sleeps at night. Like any cold-blooded animal, it does not tolerate temperature changes, therefore it hides in the shade during the day, and hunts in the morning and evening. Chooses dry and sunny flat terrain or savannas. Lives in burrows up to 5 meters deep, and young foot-and-mouth disease prefer tree hollows.

These "ground crocodiles" are loners. Several individuals gather only during the mating season or during the joint eating of carrion. At the same time, the hierarchy is clearly observed in the flock. Young strong males dominate, while old men, youth and females are pushed into the background.

In its habitats, 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 birds of prey.

The victims of the Komodo reptile are such large animals as deer, buffalo, horses, wild boars, 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, knocking down the victim with a strong blow of the tail, breaking its legs, and inflicting a lacerated wound with its teeth. After that, he releases the prey. The animal dies on its own within a few hours or days from poison and blood poisoning, since the saliva of the largest reptile is teeming with toxic bacteria. In the process of research, scientists isolated 57 different strains in her oral cavity, including anthrax. Each of the bacteria in itself is very dangerous, and their bouquet, getting into the blood, leaves no chance for the victim. After being bitten by a Komodo monitor lizard, 99 cases out of 100 are fatal.

Giant foot-and-mouth disease, smelling the smell of rot and blood, come running to the feast. They feed mainly on carrion. Rarely do they tear apart live prey. These reptiles are able to tear off and swallow large pieces of meat, in which they are helped by extremely sharp teeth, a powerful jaw and an expanding stomach-pouch.

Interestingly, the pus and infections of the deceased animal do not harm monitor lizards, which simply 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 assistance within a couple of hours after the bite, then death from sepsis is inevitable. Several cases of monitor lizard attacks on children have been documented. It is better for women not to visit the Indonesian islands during menstruation, as the smell of blood excites the hunting instinct in monitor lizards, which makes them very dangerous.

reproduction

Puberty in these reptiles comes 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 wins, who gets the female.

After mating, she digs a deep hole, where she lays 20-25 eggs. The lizard protects the masonry for 8 months. But when the goannas hatch, she immediately leaves them. Cubs survive thanks to a strong natural instinct for self-preservation. They spend most of their time on 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. At the same time, 100% male lizards hatch.

Dragons also need protection

Unique creatures are distributed over a very narrow range. They are found only on a few Indonesian islands - Komodo, Jili Motang, Flores, Rincha. A total of 5,000 of these giant lizards have been discovered. 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 species, the Komodo National Park was created in 1980, where excursions are organized.

Animals are listed in the Red Book, hunting for them is prohibited. The law says that even if a reptile attacks a person - an adult or a child, it must not be killed! The "Dragon" must be scared away, after calling professional huntsmen who will find this monster and transport it to the other end of the island.

To control the population of Komodo monitor lizards, a special campaign was carried out, during which all found reptiles were implanted with a chip in their hind legs. So they were counted. Experts emphasize that the largest lizard in the world will survive only in its natural environment, for which it is necessary to limit the resettlement of people on the islands.

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

The reptile got its name from the word “lizard”, which comes from the Old Russian word “skor”, 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 Virginian 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?

A variety of 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 perfectly on any surface, firmly clinging to all sorts of bulges and bumps. Rocky species of lizards are excellent jumpers, the height of the jump of these mountain dwellers reaches 4 meters.

Large predators, such as monitor lizard, hunt small animals - snakes, their own kind, and also eat the eggs of birds and reptiles with pleasure. The monitor lizard from Komodo Island, the largest lizard in the world, attacks wild boars and even buffalo and deer. The Moloch lizard eats exclusively, while the pink-tongued skink eats only terrestrial mollusks. Some large iguana and skink lizards are almost entirely vegetarian, with a menu of ripe fruits, leaves, flowers, and plant pollen.

Lizards in nature are extremely cautious and agile, approaching the intended prey stealthily, and then attack with a swift jerk and capture the prey in their mouths.

Komodo monitor lizard eating buffalo

As of 2014, there are 5907 species of lizards on the planet. Below is a list of the ten most unusual lizards in the world that differ from their relatives in their original appearance or behavior.

The fantastic leaf-tailed gecko, also known as the satanic gecko, is a species of gecko that lives on the trunks and branches of trees in tropical rainforests only on the Madagascar islands. Adults reach a length of 9-14 cm and weigh from 10 to 30 grams. They are nocturnal, hunting for insects. These amazing animals are endowed with the ability to mimic - merge with the bark of trees, dry leaves, etc. Due to deforestation, they are endangered. They can often be found in terrariums around the world.

Moloch, also known as the "thorny devil" is a species of rather unusual lizard, widespread in the deserts and semi-deserts of western and central Australia. The body length of an adult does not exceed 20 cm, with a weight of 50 to 100 g. Active during the day. It feeds exclusively on ants, usually small species. During the day, the "thorny devil" is able to eat several thousand ants, which it catches with a sticky tongue.

Lobe-tailed geckos

Lobe-tailed geckos or flying geckos are a genus of geckos with 7 species. They live in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Nicobar Islands (India), as well as on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. They love tropical woodlands. They spend most of their lives in trees, where they move very quickly. They live in hollows. Active at night. They feed on insects and small invertebrates. The total length of their body is 20-23 cm. The characteristic features of these geckos is the ability to jump up to 60 m from one tree to another.

Philippine sail lizard

In seventh place in the list of the most unusual lizards in the world is the Philippine sailing lizard, which is found only in the Philippines. These lizards are omnivorous and feed on fruits, leaves, flowers, insects and small mammals. They prefer to settle in moist forests near water, rivers, rice fields, etc. Adults can grow up to one meter long. They are excellent swimmers.

The common conolophus is a species of large lizard from the iguana family. They live in earthen burrows dug by them only in the Galapagos archipelago, on the islands of San Salvador, Santa Cruz, Isabela and Fernandina. Their body length reaches 125 cm, weight 13 kg. They feed exclusively on plants growing on the ground, sometimes on fallen fruits. 80% of their diet is sprouts and flowers of prickly pear (a plant from the Cactus family).

The marine iguana is an unusual lizard found exclusively in the Galapagos Islands. It is found mainly on rocky shores, salt marshes and mangroves. The marine iguana is not very skilled on land, however, it swims and dives well. It can hold its breath for 1 hour, and also has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to spend most of its time in the sea. It feeds mainly on algae, sometimes on small vertebrates. The total length of their body reaches 140 cm, of which more than half is occupied by the tail, weight up to 12 kg.

The Komodo monitor lizard is the largest lizard in the world, found in arid plains, savannahs and dry tropical forests only on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinka, Flores and Jili Motang. Their body length reaches 3–4 m, weight is about 70–100 kg. They are considered excellent hunters who are able to reach speeds of up to 20 km / h for short distances. They swim well and climb trees. They feed on a wide variety of animals. Their diet includes crabs, fish, sea turtles, lizards, snakes, birds, baby crocodiles, rodents, deer, wild boars, dogs, cats, goats, buffaloes, horses and even relatives. Possessing a venomous bite, they are considered one of the most cold-blooded, sadistic killers in the animal world. Adult Komodo monitor lizards have no natural enemies in the wild, except for humans and, possibly, combed crocodiles.

Flying dragon (Draco volans)

The flying dragon is a species of unusual lizard, common in Indonesia on the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Timor, as well as in West Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippine Islands (Palawan), Singapore and Vietnam. The length of their body reaches about 20 cm. On its sides there are wide leathery folds stretched between six "false" ribs. When they open, a kind of "wings" are formed, with the help of which dragons can plan in the air at a distance of up to 60 meters. They live on the crowns of trees in tropical forests, where they spend a significant part of their lives. They descend to the ground only in two cases - for laying eggs and if the flight failed. They feed on insects, mainly ants and termites.

The Lesser Belttail is a species of lizard found in the rocky, desert areas of southern Africa. The length of their body ranges from 15 to 21 cm. On the head and back there are hard bone plates like a shell. Feeds on insects and small invertebrates. Lives in groups of up to 60 individuals, hiding in gorges and crevices. In danger, they are able to twist into a ring, grabbing their tail with their mouths. It is considered one of the most prickly animals in the world.

The most unusual lizard in the world is the Frilled Lizard, which lives in dry forests and forest-steppes in northwestern Australia and southern New Guinea. Their body length reaches 80–90 cm, weight 0.5 kg. It feeds on insects and other invertebrates, mainly spiders and small reptiles. In case of danger, the lizard is able to suddenly open a brightly colored collar (and this movement is accompanied by the simultaneous opening of a wide mouth), which scares away many enemies, including snakes and dogs. An interesting feature of the frilled lizard is its ability to run on its hind legs, holding its body almost vertically.

Man has studied, it would seem, all the living beings on the planet. But to this day, scientists find and describe new previously unexplored species of animals and plants. For example, the Reptile class was replenished with 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 - Cyrtopodion golubevi with a body length of about 43-59 mm and a tail of 53-79 mm.

Reptiles are divided into 4 orders

reptile classification

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

• Testudines - Turtles;
• Crocodilia - Crocodiles;
• Rhynchocephalia - Beakheads;
• Squamata - Scaly.

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

• Serpentes - Serpents;
• Amphisbaenia - Amphisbaeny (two-way);
• Lacertilia - Lizards;
• Chamaeleonia - Chameleons.

There are many types of lizards

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 geckos (Gekkota);
• infraorder iguanaformes (Iguania);
• skink-like infraorder (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-shaped lizards can at first glance be attributed to snakes, and representatives of the worm-like family are similar in appearance to earthworms. However, the majority still have limbs, and their appearance leaves no doubt that they belong to the suborder.

An interesting distinguishing feature of many species of lizards is the dropping of part of the tail.

A similar phenomenon is called autotomy - the ability to independently discard any organ or limb. This usually happens in extremely unfavorable conditions, in the event of a threat to life or other danger.

Usually the new tail is shorter than the old one.

By contraction of special muscles in certain areas, the tail vertebrae break and the damaged blood vessels are clamped, 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 Haraguan sphero (Sphaerodactylus ariasae) and the Virginian round-toed gecko (Sphaerodactylus parthenopion), which live in the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic. These animals weigh about 0.2 g, and their body length is 16-19 mm.

The largest member of the suborder in the world is the Komodo dragon. This large lizard is also called the giant Indonesian monitor lizard, Komodo dragon, Komodo dragon, and the natives of the Indonesian islands call it “ora” or “buaya darat”, which means “ground 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 the present, their range occupies an impressive area there, although scientists have established that the ancestors of this species lived in Australia.

Varan has very powerful jaws

The Komodo dragon is an excellent swimmer, runner and even rock climber. Monitor lizards, getting food or looking for a secluded place to rest and sleep, can also climb trees. These huge lizards are diurnal, waking up at dawn and hunting with the first rays of the sun. In the daytime, they prefer to hide from the scorching sun in the shade.

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

The Komodo monitor lizard hunts not only with huge sharp teeth and powerful jaws, with which they easily tear prey. Not so long ago, it was found that the bite of Komodo monitor lizards is poisonous. Previously, the danger of bites from these lizards was associated with pathogenic microflora in the mouth that enters the wound of the victim. The spreading infection gradually kills the prey, and monitor lizards patiently pursue the animal and wait for large prey to be so exhausted by the disease that they cannot resist.

Currently, scientists have 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. A variety of species allows you to choose them for home maintenance for every taste. Based on the desires and capabilities of the owner, they can be huge or small, herbivorous or live food, capable of human contact or live in their own closed terrarium.

To keep a reptile requires certain knowledge

Names of the largest lizards for home keeping:

• Striped lizard. One of the largest representatives, in nature it can reach a body length of 250-300 cm and weigh more than 20 kg.
• The Nile monitor can weigh between 5 and 10 kilograms and have a body length of 150-170 cm. Females are smaller and, on average, weigh about 3 kg with a length of 135 cm.
• common iguana. A fairly common type for keeping a house. They can grow up to 150 cm.
• Tegu - lizards measuring 1-1.4 m.
• Steppe Cape monitor lizard. Adults of this species can be from 60 cm to 1.5 meters long. The females are slightly smaller than the males.

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

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

Keeping a reptile is not cheap

Pets must be provided with suitable food, it is also necessary to create a light and thermal regime 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 must be weighed. It is also worth evaluating the financial possibilities, since keeping a lizard, especially a large one, can be quite costly. To care for such a pet, time is needed to provide the animal with comfortable living conditions. Representatives of many species are quite friendly and, with proper care, can be tamed by humans to some extent.

In this video you will learn more about lizards:

A lizard is an animal that belongs to the class of reptiles (reptiles). To date, almost 6,000 species are known. Representatives of families can be very different, some rare species are listed in the Red Book. Both reptiles with legs and some legless forms are called lizards. Reptiles can be vegetarians and eat animal food. Some varieties are suitable for keeping at home.

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Description

Unlike snakes, these reptiles have divided eyelids. Their body is elastic, elongated, ends in a long tail. Paws are proportional, clawed.

According to the general characteristics, the body is covered with keratinized scales, which change several times a year. The tongue can have a different shape, it is usually movable and extends from the mouth. It is with them that lizards catch prey. On both sides of the head are the organs of hearing, which are covered by eardrums.

real lizard

The most common reptile is the real lizard. Her body length is 40 cm.

Teeth are used to tear and grind food. Monitor lizards cut their prey with them.

The only venomous species of lizard is the gila-tooth.



Reptiles live on every continent except Antarctica. Representatives familiar to Russia - real lizards - live almost everywhere. All species move on different surfaces, firmly clinging to irregularities. Rock lizards are excellent jumpers, the height of their jump reaches 4 m.

Tail

Lizards are capable of autotomy, which is used in case of danger: muscle contraction allows you to break the cartilaginous formations of the vertebrae and discard part of the tail, narrowing the blood vessels, while losing blood almost never happens. This distracts the enemy, and the animal avoids the attack.

The tail of the reptile is quickly restored in a shortened form. Sometimes not one, but several grows back.



Color

Lizards have a color that combines green, white, gray and brown. The species that live in the desert exactly repeat the shade of the surrounding area. This is their defense mechanism.

Desert species are able to change body color. These include calot - a reptile with a red head. Among reptiles there are albinos - these are white lizards, devoid of pigment.



The giant lizard has a black and yellow color.



giant lizard

Salamanders are black with yellow spots.



Salamander

Geckos have special colors. Some of them are pink with a blue tail.





Floor

There are a number of signs that allow you to roughly determine gender. It is possible to distinguish a male from a femaleonly in adulthood, as sexual dimorphism developslate.

Male individuals of some species, according to the description, have a crest on the back and head, large pores on the hips. Another feature of the male is the spurs on the paws.

The sex of individual species can be recognized by the throat "bags", preanal scutes and enlarged scales behind the cloaca.

However, only a blood test for testosterone levels can accurately distinguish a male from a female. They make it at the vet.

Varieties

Lizard species are divided into 6 infraorders, which consist of 37 families.

Each of them has its own characteristics.

Skinks

The order includes 7 families with the following names:

• real lizards;
• night lizards;
• herrosaurus;
• skink;
• teiids;
• belttails;
• hymnophthalmids.



Large Herrosaur

iguanas

The order includes 14 families. Some of the representatives of these lizards are real iguanas. These are large reptiles that can reach a length of 2 m. They live mainly in tropical forests.

A prominent representative of the detachment is also a chameleon that inhabits Africa, Madagascar, the countries of the East, the USA. Its peculiarity lies in the ability to change skin color depending on the environment.



Chameleon

In the forests of Cameroon, there is a four-horned chameleon, which got its name because of the characteristic outgrowths on its head. In males, only three "horns" can be developed; in females, they usually do not have them.

geckos

The order consists of 7 families.

Its representative can be called a scalefoot, which lives in Australia.



Scalelegs

Fusiform

The order includes 2 superfamilies and 5 families.

These include monitor lizards, earless monitor lizards, fusiform, legless, xenosaurs.

Large xenosaurus

worm-like

The detachment consists of 2 genera and a family of worm-like lizards, which outwardly resemble worms.

They inhabit Indonesia, China, New Guinea, Philippines.



worm lizard

monitor lizards

The order includes several families, which consist of the largest lizards.

Typical representatives are monitor lizard and gilatooth, which are found in the United States and Mexico.



komodo dragon

Suborder lizards

The order includes the superfamily Shinisaurus.

It includes one species, the crocodile shinizaurus.



Crocodile shinizaurus

record holders

Of the currently existing representatives of lizards, the largest is the Komodo monitor lizard. Some individuals have huge dimensions, reaching three meters in length and a weight of 85 kg in adulthood. A lizard weighing 91.7 kg is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. These reptiles eat small animals, but can also attack larger prey. The Komodo dragon feeds on wild boars, wild goats, and cattle.

The smallest lizards in the world are the Haraguan sphero and the Virginian round-toed gecko. Their dimensions do not exceed 19 mm, weight - 0.2 g.

home views

Various geckos are especially popular with owners.



Pink with gray tail hemiteconix

If you need a calm pet for children, it is better to havegemiteconyx. They have different colors depending on the breed. Their tail accumulates nutrients, which they use as a reserve in the absence of food. Because of this, the tail looks gray, while the body is most often pink. This is a reptile with a very expressive look.



Felzuma

If you want to keep at homethe animal is more active, you can choose a felsum. She has a beautiful emerald color. It can be observed during daylight hours.

At home, they also contain varieties of agamas. The most popular of them are bearded and woody. The first got its name due to the cervical bag, which, when frightened or during the mating season, stretches and darkens. Tree, or black-throated agama is also able to change skin tone. Such pets are reluctant to make contact with the owner and prefer to hide.



Many lizards eat insects. They prefer various crickets, mealworms, raw eggs or pieces of meat, a mixture of chopped boiled chicken, carrots and lettuce.

Supplement food with supplements of vitamins and minerals. In a terrarium for home maintenance, there must be water. If the pet refuses food, but drinks, there is no reason for concern: the lizard simply reduced its activity and did not get hungry.

reproduction

The mating season is in spring and summer. Large species breed once a season, small ones - several times a year. Males are in conflict, approaching each other from the side, trying to look bigger. The small one surrenders without a fight and retreats.

If the males are of the same size, a fight ensues between them, during which they use their teeth. The winner gets the right to the female. In some species, a violation in the sex ratio leads to parthenogenesis - females lay eggs without the participation of males. In lizards, there are 2 types of reproduction: live birth and laying eggs.

Females of small reptiles lay no more than 4 eggs, large ones - up to 18. The mass of one varies from 4 to 200 g. The size of a round-toed gecko egg is no more than 6 mm in diameter. In the monitor lizard, it reaches 10 cm in length.

The laying of females is buried in the ground, hidden in burrows. The incubation period lasts from 3 weeks to one and a half months. It depends on the climate. Having hatched, the cubs begin an independent life.

Pregnancy lasts 3 months, the embryos of northern species hibernate in the womb. Their life span does not exceed 5 years.