Varanus priscus
Sign in to saveMegalania (Varanus priscus) is an extinct species of giant monitor lizard, part of the megafaunal assemblage that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. It is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed, but the fragmentary nature of known remains make estimates highly uncertain. Studies suggest that most known specimens would have reached around in body length excluding the tail, while some individuals would have been significantly larger, reaching sizes around , or perhaps even in total length.
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Phylogeny
- Size
- Palaeobiology
- Venom
- Extinction
- References
Megalania (Varanus priscus) is an extinct species of giant monitor lizard, part of the megafaunal assemblage that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. It is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed, but the fragmentary nature of known remains make estimates highly uncertain. Studies suggest that most known specimens would have reached around in body length excluding the tail, while some individuals would have been significantly larger, reaching sizes around , or perhaps even in total length.
Megalania is thought to have had a similar ecology to the living Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) which may be its closest living relative. The youngest fossil remains of giant monitor lizards in Australia date to around 50,000 years ago. The indigenous peoples of Australia might have encountered megalania when they first arrived on the continent and might have subsequently played a role in megalania's extinction. While originally megalania was considered to be the only member of the titular genus "Megalania", today it is considered a member of the genus Varanus, being closely related to other Australian monitor lizards.