A new species of monitor lizard closely related to the Komodo dragon has been discovered by German scientists in Indonesia.
The discovery was made after close examination of the new specimen using morphological characteristics and DNA analysis. Taxonomically classified as Varanus lirungensis, the new species “illustrates the high diversity of monitor lizards in Indonesia,” according to André Koch, who found the lizard.
Varanus lirungensis is described in the latest issue of the Australian Journal of Zoology. Discovered on the Talaud Islands, a small Indonesian archipelago, the new species is carnivorous like all other monitor lizards, and it is closely related to the giant Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor. Researchers were surprised by the discovery, since they had originally arrived to study another species of monitor, the Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator).
The find should help to fill in some crucial gaps of knowledge about how flora and fauna migrated and diverged throughout the Southeast Asian islands, which are home to some of the world’s richest biodiversity.
Researchers warn, however, that the discovery could come as a mixed blessing. “As monitor lizards are exploited for the international trade in live animals and reptile leather, small island populations could soon be eliminated” explained Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Wägele. In other words, poachers and traders could target the new species because of its status as an unknown species, which can mark up its value. Yet at the same time, new species like Varanus lirungensis can only be protected if they are identified and studied.
Sure, Varanus lirungensis doesn’t have wings and spit fire, and it may not be a dragon per se, but this fierce little lizard still conjures up traits of its larger dragon-like cousins. Who’s to say it can’t be the stuff of reptilian legend?
Image Credit: André Koch
About Bryan Nelson
Does this mean we can take the polar bears off the endanger species since we founf a species we didn’t know we had?
Species can only be protected if identified and studied? bull-thats exactly the view that wipes out ecosystems…”humans are the sole protector, so hell we’d be practically irresponsible not to step in, yknow, maintain some ‘balance’, use some resources responsibly, maybe outsource a few ‘tasks’ here and there, but for a good cause obviously”. impeccable logic Wagele
Dragons: Its long established that dragons did exist. The scientific world just doesnt buy it. Kind of like my chemistry prof who said in the sixties that all elements that exist have already been discovered or the patent office commissioner around the turn of the century saying that everything that could be invented had been invented and the govt should just close the office…that was around 1900.
Now,back to dragons. Existance of life who produce electrical current, eels. And the production of hydrochloric acids in our stomaches is a normal thing.
Take hydrogenn fro the hcl and an electrical spark and you have the making of a dragon, who has the ability to store the hydrogen gas in a bladder to be expelled and ignited at will.
Why arent there any artifacts of dragons? Simple. The excess production of hydrochloric acid in the bodies fo dragons thoroughly disentigrated them when they died.
Next question?
the dragon lable really throws me off. When you first read dragon you think oh cool, then it becomes just another borring lizard for the rest of us in America.
so why did ya put the leopard cub in a cage.
Do you not think the LOCAL Indonesians knew about this animal long before the arrival of the German Scientists???
X
There are probably many other animal species humans have not discovered yet, in oceans and forest. I hope we don’t ruin their habitats before discovering them.
Wow, I never thought they would actually be making money off of all the free press these dragons are getting. It’s great to see more animals being discovered though.
Thanks Alot
The real truth is that the last few dragons existed a good millenia ago, if not today. Science is TOTALLY BSing society into thinking DINOSAURS lived millions of years ago….only a few dinosaurs exist today–they are known as reptiles. There’s plenty of proof historically that large dinosaurs existed in some (more remote) places even up to the times of Greeks and Romans–and every ancient culture has dragon legends that are 1000s of years old–not millions as modern evolutionary fraud claims.
This an awsome site which I like very much, but can I use some of these articles in my webmagazine?
It doesn’t breathe fire – that is what is the HUGE thing about Dragons…Maybe also that they could have wings, and FLY too BUT it isn’t a dragon. No Wings….No Fire That by no means at all equals dragon! Sheech!
wow talaud island is about 2 hours from my hometown took by small boat.. this species live wild around my filage. there’s alot of them.. this species is blind but they can heard pretty good.. they can run really fast.. and when in downhill they can rolling.. sometime my friend catch them and eat them.. my friend said.. it taste like chicken.. because they haunt all kind of bird species for eat… specially chicken… they fav food is chicken… that’s what i know about this species
um this looks just like a lizard dragons are extincT! i study them!!! i would know!!! this is just to get pplz attention!!!
The world is a better place!
i was expecting a bigger one to be in a pic, but still pretty cool!!
A great blog with great info. All the best.
Why should I trust you guys. Past mod – capture, kill, dissect, study.
i saw the same lizard about 13 years ago in indonesia.
it was in the thousand islands a company owned the island. the full grown lizard looked the size of a medium crocidile. they lived behind the beach house and locals would feed them. i saw a baby and tried to catch it but it ran really fast like an iguanua up a tree. glad i didnt get bit. I FOUND IT FIRST!
At least if it has great value then the breeders will value them and captive propagate them. Many rare animals are alive and well in private collections as well as zoos. May this little guy prosper and be left alone. Buy captive bred animals if you collect herps. Use your head buy captive bred.
If only it had wings..
Dragons don’t have wings? This is not a dragon if it does not have wings.
So, Samuel, what about unicorns? Do they have self destuct-buttons in their horns that have erased them from the fossil record?
Just a sub-species of a VERY common varanid. They will probably be sold to the food markets in China before being sent to keepers in other countries who would captive propogate them. Sad……….
samuel hay i think ur the first person 2 agree with my theory so good job on it
Hafa Adai (Hello) From Guam USA,
This photo looks like our monitor lizard on Guam. I believe they are the same species. How could it have just been discovered now? We have lived with this around us for decades maybe longer. I am no expert, but I would be interested to find out if they are the same. If there is interest, maybe we can post a picture on our website.
Just stumbled into your blog. Nice site you have! =)
Okay, lets see here. Dinosaurs living in last few 1000 years. That’s very interesting as yet no remains of dinosaurs have been found dating under a million years. Just like Lock Ness. Well, its interesting that dinosaurs disappeared 17,000 yrs before the lake was created by ice flows and a fault line. Wait, I’ve got it, this four Finned creature crawled on its belly over steep mountains to get into the lake. No, no it was in the ice which melted, after after sliding down a fault line so hard and so long it created the depression of the lake. Then thawed and came to life. That is great that dinosaurs have figured out naturally how to freeze themselves and come back to life. Maybe we can figure that one out
If that is a Dragon there must be a Giant holding it.
Since we’re discussing dragons… How many times in, oh, I don’t know, the past five hundred years, has science been wrong? I’m not saying there were such things as dragons (the kind in myth, that is), but to be so arrogant as to say there is no chance these creatures existed is moronic.
For thousands of years people thought the earth was flat and if you went to far west, you’d fall off. Then this italian comes along and proves the earth is round, we circle the sun, and we aren’t at the center of the universe.
My point is, is that science is the embodiment of change. So if you think that the way things are now, at this very moment, will be this way forever is foolish, because a minute later, it’s already changed beyond return
The previous post was for the individual who thinks dinosaurs went extinct just a 1000 yrs ago. Now, as for this “dragon” I guess it depends on what culture you belong to or relate to. Yes, they name it a dragon and it creates hype. But since the Komono is called a dragon and these apparently get as big as a small croc, like a komono, then its only reasonable that these would get the same title. Maybe they call them dragons cause they have breath like a dragon? Have you ever smelled the breath of a komono? Maybe you should try it. Alas, the term…..”Dragon breath.” Just a though in the dark.
maybe one lizard fucked another lizard and it made a hybrid lizard and shit. could be cool but probably just a hybrid
Um… Mangrove Monitors have been around for years… They’ve been selling them at reptile shops and so on when I was a kid. I used to work at a Reptile Shop (Radical Reptiles) and we had them every so often. This was in 2000 as well…
@realtruth
Creationist ey? Thypical…
oil is million of years old.think about it.
hey samuel..
the guy who seems to know much about dragon.
i wanted to have deep questions with you..
can i search you some where like facebook or friendster.
cause giving out your mail address isnt a nice idea i guess.
i always had a belief that the dragon of souls that live below the soil of fear, and in the hearts of hero’s, were small lizard size.. because that is how they make the myths, being small they can be out of everyones sight, and see who the people really are, dragons are in the bible, and st. barbara a barbie a woman had and used it as her slay. I think that god wants us to be myth like for what he has given us belongs to us, and even winged creatures should be for us to see, we are spoiled and water haapi eternaly
Yeah scientists estimate that we only know 10 percent of the worlds species between plants, fungi, bacteria, animals, etc. There are alot of insect species we dont know about yet. btw frank i really hope that ur post was a joke…
just another pesky crawling creature if you ask me.Found years ago by locals.Good to eat too
everything has a cocoon, the dragons cocoon is earth, heard it on the grape vine, of lizards telling lizards where the dragon creature of gods, the dragon hole is located, i mean even humans have been looked at like angels with wings, anyways, to be or not to be, like cross eyed mary the jethro tull song, keep eyes to your self, to join the black tan parade. but i like that everything has a cocoon, and dragons is the earth. slick, or if anyone sees you too big to fit into the hole, they will call someone
Please check out the exotic animals that is found here in Anda, Bohol.
You can type in my email address and you see it in my friendster account under the “Exotic animals” album.
Please send me an email if these are already recorded in zoology books.
Thanks.
i thought it was a real like dragon!!!! a gecko indeed
hey guys……
we hunt and ate this animals here in the Ph.
and considered delicacy so you better look for this creatures before they got extinct…..
and also snakes are being killed and served….
sooner or later this remaining dinosaurs will totally go out of existence….
If you call this dragon, what do you call for indonesian komodo ? giant dragon or dragon king ???
that’s the dragon?
its look just like a ‘lizard’ (:
The lizard looks like the iguanas you find in Guam – yellow spots cover their backs. They attack only when threatened, they are often seen sunbathing on the paved roads. Iguanas have been a part of Guam for as long as I’ve been alive – thats over 50 years.
yes dragons did and still do exist just you dont see them due to the fact their thought of as monsters and demons to some but they still are out there and they’ve been around longer then scientist think they know and yeah samuel you’re not as smart on dragons as you think
this is another good delicacies (exotic food) in the philippines.
i bet that lizard is not new to the indigenious people of indonesia So if they do become instinct blame the people who wrote this article and blew the precious god creation lizards(monitor/dragons cover) only fool think that they discover things that have been here for centuries!
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm………….. lemme see if I get this right. We the humans “discovered” an new species of dragon…..One that had so far stayed hidden from us Humans and lived…..
And we need “protect and study” it to help it live?
Kinda looks to me like it was doing that just fine on it’s own before we along to muss it up.
no Frank, having found a new species doesn’t make the polar bears less endangered, thank you very much..
who cares its a new lizard there are millions in the world so whats the point