Discovery of New Kind of Giant Lizard in the Philippines

By Victoria Brown on April 7, 2010

Digital News Report – This large lizard can be as long as 6.5 feet and has bright yellow speckles on its body. The name of the newly discovered lizard is being called Varanus Bitatawa and was found in the forests of the Philippine island of Luzon. The lizard is related to the Komodo dragon.

The newly discovered lizard will be described in detail in the April 5th Biology Letters online edition by herpetologist Rafe Brown of the Biodiversity Institute at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and his colleagues.

The giant lizard is able to climb trees in search of fruit and vegetation to eat, and also to hide from predators, which can be humans. Native Agta and Ilongot people that live in the forest consider this lizard a treat to eat because the monitor lizard doesn’t eat stinky stuff like its relatives do and tastes much better.

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