Rating of the largest lizards. Names and features of different types of lizards What is the name of the largest lizard

Komodo dragon– the most big lizard in the world, its average size is 2.5 m, and its weight is 90 kg. But there are record holders whose length reaches 3 m and weight reaches 150 kg. The huge lizard lives on the Indonesian islands; it was first discovered only in 1912.

The Komodo dragon belongs to the class of reptiles, the subclass of oviparous, and the order of squamates.

To date, the largest lizard from this family is recognized male 3.13 meters long, weighing 166 kg. Curious, but huge size It is the males who reach it; females, as a rule, do not grow above 1.8 m.

View huge lizard instills fear - a massive body covered with stone-colored skin reminiscent of chain mail, large curved teeth, a forked tongue.

Unusual hunt

Komodo lizards are carnivores, so they eat only meat. The diet of young individuals consists mainly of insects, birds, and snakes. Adult monitor lizards hunt for more nutritious prey; forest dwellers become their prey - wild boars, buffalo, deer, smaller mammals. There is practically nothing left of the victims - the giant does not disdain hooves, skin and other parts of carcasses that other predators do not eat.

The unusual nature of the hunt lies in the fact that these lizards are able to recognize not only the approach of the prey at a distance of several kilometers, but also sense its taste. Involved in this process forked tongue and organs oral cavity who can taste the air.

Large Komodo dragons are not slow, they can run at speeds of 18 km per hour and have very flexible jaw and throat muscles. This structure allows you to quickly swallow large pieces of meat. The stomach is easily and strongly stretched, even accommodates whole carcasses large animals such as pigs.

However, predatory giants rarely swallow whole carcasses. More often they prefer to immobilize the victim, then tear it into pieces and eat it. In alarming situations, the monitor lizard instantly empties its stomach to lighten its weight and escape from the enemy.

Toxicity and infectiousness

Komodo dragon – poisonous creature, the poison is secreted from glands located in the lower jaw. The poisonous secretion disrupts blood clotting, reduces blood pressure and body temperature, and causes paralysis of the victim and severe pain.

Even if the unfortunate animal receives a small dose of poison and escapes from the predator’s mouth, it is not destined to escape and survive. Lizard saliva contains more than 50 thousand species of bacteria. The bite leads to blood poisoning and inevitable death in the coming days. The predator constantly monitors the surrounding air and hurries to where the disease finishes off the victim.

On people poisonous dragon attacks rarely, but there have been cases when even children became victims. However, Komodo dragons are protected and it is forbidden to destroy them.

Facts about reproduction

Komodo dragons capable of asexual reproduction, but only male individuals can appear in this way. Females are born only after natural fertilization.

To protect their offspring from other predators, mothers make false nests and sit there, distracting hunters. At this time, the real eggs are in a different place.

Young lizards are cunning– sensing danger, they repeatedly roll in their own feces to produce an unpleasant odor. The lizards spend the first four years of their lives in trees, hiding from predators, including monitor lizards of their family and own parents who no longer recognize their offspring.

Growing up to one and a half meters, young dragonets descend and begin to hunt themselves. Adulthood lasts about nine years, and the lifespan of a dragon averages thirty years. But they do not have the same vitality as .

The Komodo dragon is rightfully considered the largest lizard. This species was discovered by scientists who, back in early 1912, decided to fully explore the island called Komodo. They were surprised by the size of this creature, so they began to study it. They captured the largest lizards of this species with the help of local aborigines, and carried out careful research to understand how these monsters were able to survive to this day.

Research has shown that these monsters belong to a species of ancient lizards and are cold-blooded creatures. Based on external factors, scientists classified this type of lizard as a monitor lizard. If you consider where exactly these reptiles were found, it is quite understandable why they decided to call them the Komodo dragon.

Lizard sizes

It should be noted that the Komodo dragon can reach quite impressive sizes. The most mature individuals reach 2.8 meters. At the same time, their Weight Limit is about ninety kilograms. Thanks to these dimensions, the Commodian monitor lizard is considered the largest and heaviest lizard on our entire planet. In mid-1937, at an exhibition of unique creatures that took place in Missouri, a specimen of a lizard was presented that reached more than three meters in length. Her weight was one hundred and sixty-six kilograms, which simply could not help but amaze the gray hairs.

Appearance of the Lizard

By appearance The Commodian monitor resembles a cross between a lizard and a crocodile. He has a rather large mouth, which is simply strewn with sharp teeth. And his thick paws and massive tail really inspire fear in his rivals. In adult lizards, the skin is dark in color with a brown tint. And in younger individuals, the skin has a light shade with bright spots, which can sometimes smoothly turn into stripes.

It is worth noting that males can be larger than females, and they are also characterized by increased aggressiveness, which they very often show towards other males who decide to enter their territory.

Lifestyle

Lizards are diurnal. Like other cold-blooded representatives of their kind, they love to soak up the sun. These huge reptiles live in burrows, the depth of which can sometimes reach five meters. They tear them out with their large paws and thick claws. They even feed on large animals such as deer and even buffalo. From the bite of this lizard, the animal's wound begins to rot, and subsequently it dies.

He moves 4 times faster than a person, reaching a speed of 18 km/h from the start. 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

The Komodo dragon is a reptile from the order Scaly. 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. A few years before local residents They said more than once that they saw 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. The movable lower jaw and stomach expand 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. U younger generation lizards are brighter in color - 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 favorable.

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 largest lizards begins 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 rolls in her 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.

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 of the Australian fauna from complete extermination. 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 in 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 rays of the sun they are forced to hide in the shade.

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 of death. 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.

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 differ greatly; some rare varieties are listed in the Red Book. Lizards are both reptiles with legs and some legless forms. Reptiles can be vegetarians and eat animal foods. 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, ending in a long tail. Paws are proportional, clawed.

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

Real lizard

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

Teeth are used for tearing and grinding food. Monitor lizards use them to cut up their prey.

The only one poisonous species lizards - poisonous tooth.



Reptiles live on all continents except Antarctica. Representatives familiar to Russia - real lizards - live almost everywhere. All species move on different surfaces, clinging tightly to uneven surfaces. Rock lizards are excellent jumpers, their jump height 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, resulting in blood loss almost never happens. This distracts the enemy, and the animal avoids the attack.

The reptile's tail quickly recovers in a shortened form. Sometimes not one, but several grow back.



Color

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

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



The gigantic lizard is black and yellow in 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. You can distinguish a male from a femaleonly in adulthood, as sexual dimorphism developslate.

Males of some species are described as having a ridge on their back and head and large pores on their thighs. Another feature of the male is spurs on his paws.

Find out gender individual species possible by throat “bags”, preanal scutes and enlarged scales behind the cloaca.

However, only a blood test for testosterone levels will help to accurately distinguish a male from a female. It is done at the veterinary clinic.

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;
• Gerrosaurs;
• skinks;
• Teiids;
• belttails;
• Gymophthalmides.



Large Gerrosaurus

Iguanas

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

A striking representative of the order is also the chameleon, which inhabits Africa, Madagascar, Eastern countries, and 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 growths on its head. Males can only develop three “horns”; females usually do not have them.

Gecko-like

The order consists of 7 families.

Its representative can be called the scalefish, which lives in Australia.



Scalelegs

Fusiformes

The order includes 2 superfamilies and 5 families.

These include monitor lizards, earless monitor lizards, spindle monitors, legless monitor lizards, and xenosaurs.

Large xenosaur

Vermiformes

The order consists of 2 genera and a family vermiform lizards, which look like worms.

They inhabit Indonesia, China, New Guinea, Philippines.



Worm-like lizard

Monitor lizards

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

Typical representatives are the monitor lizard and the poisonous tooth, which are found in the USA and Mexico.



Komodo dragon

Lizard suborder

The order includes the superfamily Shinisaurus.

It includes one species, the crocodile shinisaurus.



Crocodile Shinisaurus

Record breakers

Of the existing representatives of lizards, the largest is the Komodo dragon. Some individuals have enormous dimensions, reaching three meters in length and a weight of 85 kg in adulthood. A monitor 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 Haraguana sphero and the Virginia round-toed gecko. Their dimensions do not exceed 19 mm, weight - 0.2 g.

Domestic species

Various geckos are especially popular among owners.



Pink with gray tail hemiteconix

If you need a calm pet for children, it is better to gethemiteconyx. They have different colors depending on the breed. They accumulate in their tail 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 shade. This is a reptile with a very expressive look.



Felzuma

If you want to keep it at homeIf the animal is more active, you can choose felsuma. She has a beautiful emerald color. You can watch her during daylight hours.

At home they also keep varieties of agamas. The most popular of them are bearded and woody. The first received its name due to the neck sac, which, when frightened or during the mating season, stretches and darkens. The tree or black-throated agama is also capable of changing skin tone. Such pets are reluctant to make contact with the owner and prefer to hide.



Many lizards eat insects. They prefer a variety of crickets, mealworms, and will not refuse raw eggs or pieces of meat, a mixture of chopped boiled chicken, carrots and lettuce.

The food is supplemented with vitamins and minerals. A terrarium for home maintenance must have water. If the pet refuses food but drinks, there is no reason to worry: the lizard has simply decreased its activity and is not hungry.

Reproduction

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

If the males are 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, an imbalance in the sex ratio leads to parthenogenesis - females lay eggs without the participation of males. Lizards have two types of reproduction: viviparity and oviposition.

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

The females bury the clutches in the ground and hide them 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; embryos of northern species overwinter in the womb. Their lifespan does not exceed 5 years.