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Monitor lizards are the family Varanidae, a group of lizards which includes the largest living lizard, the Komodo Dragon. Varanidae contains only a single genus: Varanus. In Australia monitor lizards are known as goannas (See main article).
Evolutionary overview Monitor lizards are considered to be the most highly developed lizards, possessing a relatively rapid metabolism for reptiles, several sensory adaptations that benefit the hunting of live prey, and a lower jaw that may be unhinged to facilitate eating large prey animals. Recent work indicates that the Varanid lizards, including the Komodo dragon, are indeed venomous and do not produce strains of deadly bacteria as previously thought. However, instead of injecting the venom into prey from fangs like most of their snake cousins do, the venom stays around the base of the teeth. Origin of Name It has been said that the name of monitor lizards is derived from a superstition that the creatures would give a warning about the presence of crocodiles. However, this explanation may be apocryphal. According to Wildwatch, the name actually resulted from a mishearing of the Arabic word oaran (lizard) as the German warnen (to warn), which was subsequently Latinized into monitor. Classification Genus Varanus Trivia The movie monster Varan takes its name from this genus. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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