10 Of The Largest Lizards In The World

lizards are a very interesting and diverse group of reptiles that can be found all over the world they have been able to master many different environments and some certain species can even swim walk on water and glide through the air although there are some very interesting small lizards in today's video I will be focusing on the Giants as I will be going through the 10 largest lizards in the world and for our first species we will be heading over to the Galapagos Islands as we have the marine iguana this lizard also goes by the name of sea iguana or saltwater iguana and it has these common names for a reason this species is unique among modern lizards as it's a marine reptile that has the ability to forage in the sea for algae this algae makes up the majority of this lizard's diet and marine iguanas are the only extant lizard species that spends its time in a marine environment to be able to feed on these Foods they are very competent swimmers and they're also able to hold their breath for long periods of time in some cases this can be a staggering 60 minutes but regular Dives are not normally this long although through out most of the year they are a very boring gray color male marine iguanas can morph into shades of blue pink green and even red this color changing mostly occurs in the mating season and its sole reason is to attract females these Marine lizards are not only very interesting but they are also very large as they can measure up to 1.4 meters in length and can weigh a whopping 12 kilograms this size keeps them safe from some predators but they are still targeted by Galapagos Hawks and the marine iguana comes in at number 10 on this list strangely for our next species we will not be going anywhere as our next lizard is the Galapagos Land Iguana this species is endemic to the Galapagos Islands and tends to be found in the dry lowlands although this species is the most well-known Galapagos Land Iguana there are two other species one is a very striking pink color and one is a paler yellow color as well as being quite closely related to these other species the Galapagos Land Iguana is also quite closely related to the marine iguana they're so closely related in fact that they can actually hybridize and the hybrid words created tend to be a stripy brown color it's thought that the Galapagos Land Iguana and the marine iguana diverged around 8 to 10 million years ago and since then they have gone very different ways both iguanas are primarily herbivorous for the Galapagos Land Iguana tends to feed on fruits flowers and cactuses in some cases they will feed on insects and carrion and this varied diet helps them Reach an age of around 70 years old if a Land Iguana gets to this age it is usually very large and it is also slightly larger than the marine iguanas this lizard can reach a maximum length of around 1.5 meters and they can weigh in at a whopping 13 kilograms this is truly a very impressive size but it's only fit for number nine on this list now our next lizard is another iguana but it is the last iguana that's going to be in this video to find it we will be heading over to the Caribbean and more specifically the Cayman Islands the Blue Iguana is one of the most striking iguana species on this planet but it is also a very rare species it is endemic to the island of Grand Cayman and was at one time I'm considered to be a subspecies of the Cuban iguana the species is currently listed as endangered but at one time it used to be a lot worse this lizard was abundant before European colonization but thanks to the introduction of invasive species by 2003 there were only 15 animals left thanks to conservation and captive breeding there are many more alive today and the surviving animals can reach a very impressive size the blue iguanas around the same length as the Galapagos Land Iguana at around 1.5 meters long despite this the blue iguana is a little heavier as it maxes out at around 14 kilograms this means that the Blue Iguana is not the longest iguana in the world but it is definitely one of the heaviest and it is number eight on this list but for our next species we will be making the trip over to Eastern Australia as our next lizard is the lace monitor I don't think I'll be spoiling the video too much by saying that the next seven lizards in this video will all be monitor lizards monitor lizards are very large and Powerful reptiles and they have a lot of behaviors that seem almost mammal-like many monitors species are active hunters and instead of lying in weights like many other reptiles they will actively hunt and chase their prey to help them find their prey they do have forked tongues and they're the only other reptiles apart from snakes that have these tongues the lace monitor is the second largest monitor in Australia and will happily feed on carrion as well as waste that us humans leave behind despite this they will sometimes do some hunting of their own and these lizards are known for being expert climbers although they are very large they still have some natural Predators as dingo packs and wedge-tailed Eagles will Target these lizards although these reptiles reach a very impressive size they are nowhere near the largest monitor lizards as they can measure up to two meters long yet they still only have a maximum weight of around 14 kilograms if you haven't noticed already I am judging these lizards on their weight because a large number of lizards are very long yet very light and are simply dwarfed by stockier lizards but the lace monitor is the first of the monitor lizards and comes in at number seven on this list but for our next species we will be heading away away from Australia and heading over to Africa as we have the Nile monitor although this very large lizard is native to Africa there are some small invasive populations in North America these invasive populations can cause massive problems as the Nile monitor is a very effective Predator they'll feed on other reptiles such as snakes Turtles and crocodiles but in some rather stranger cases they will feed on carrion and human waste they are famous for stealing eggs from crocodiles and in Florida invasive populations are known to feed on alligator eggs but in its native range this African Predator can reach a maximum length around 2.4 meters and can weigh in at around 20 kilograms a lizard of this size is a very formidable lizard indeed and puts on our monitor at number six on this list but for our next reptile we will be heading back over to Australia and this time we will be focusing on the largest monitor lizard in Australia as I will be focusing on the parenti although this lizard is a very large and striking Predator it is very rarely seen that's because it's normally found in the very arid areas of Australia Australia and very few people actually live in these areas the parenti is one of the fastest lizards on this planet and can run at speeds of around 25 miles per hour over short distances in some cases they use this speed to escape dingos but in other cases they use it to catch their prey this prey can come in the form of birds and other reptiles but the parenti is also known to take down marsupials when they catch them they are known to violently shake them and then completely swallow them whole this hunting technique has proven to be very effective for the parenti and although they have around the same maximum weight as the Gnar monitor at around 20 kilograms they are on average slightly longer and have a maximum length of around 2.5 meters and although this lizard is the largest monitor in Australia it's only fit for number five on this list for our next reptile we don't need to travel very far at all as we will be heading over to New Guinea as we have the crocodile monitor now this species is endemic to New Guinea and is known for having an extremely long tail this tail helps it to be one of the longest lizards in the world but as you should be able to guess it's not the largest this lizard is mostly found in mangrove swamps and Coastal rainforests and in these areas it's known for targeting fast-moving prey like other monitors is able to breathe more easily when running than other lizards and this means that it has greater stamina when running this helps it to outrun and catch up with its prey which usually comes in the form of small mammals amphibians and rodents this meaty diet helps it reach a maximum weight of around 20 kilograms yet its long tail helps it to reach a maximum length of around 2.65 meters this is slightly longer than the three previous monitors and puts it quite firmly at number four on this list but for our next lizard we will be heading back over to Africa as I will be focusing on the Rock monitor now this lizard's inclusion is quite a controversial one because instead of focusing on the species as a whole I will be focusing on the subspecies The Rock monitor has four recognized subspecies and some of these subspecies are relatively small compared to the other lizards on this list the black throated monitors thought to be the largest subspecies and these lizards are known for being very stocky they have a very powerful muscular frame and this helps them to overpower many prey items that they come across because of their size and power they are only targeted by a few Predators with martial Eagles and leopards being very keen on this species as I've already covered they're not the longest of lizards reaching a maximum length of around 2.1 meters but they are very stocky and have a maximum weight of around 24 kilograms so even though not all of the subspecies are giants The Rock monitor is fit for number three on this list for our next species we won't be focusing on any area in particular because quite frankly it has a very wide distribution it's most commonly found in South and Southeast Asia and because of this it has the very fitting name of the Asian water monitor now this lizard can be found in a wide variety of habitats as you might be able to guess from its name it does like Wetland habitats it's not too fussy on where these Wetlands habitats may be because in some cases they're found in sewers and even in lakes in very busy cities they have proven to be very adaptable and will happily scavenge for food but they are also very effective predators in their own right they are very impressive swimmers and will happily go after aquatic prey and in some cases will even Target young crocodiles because of their size they only have a few natural Predators with the saltwater crocodile being one of them in most cases they will ignore people or try and avoid human contact and this is very good news as they can reach a maximum length of around 3.2 meters and can weigh a whopping 25 kilograms this makes them the second largest lizard in the world and I think we all know what number one is for our final species we will be heading over to Indonesia as our final lizard is the Komodo dragon although this species is named after the island of Komodo it is found over a few other Indonesian Islands it is the largest extant species of lizard in the world and is a true apex predator they dominate all ecosystems in which they're found and prey on surprisingly large animals they'll Target goats deer water buffalo and to take down prey of this size they have a secret weapon for many years it was thought that Komodo dragons had toxic bacteria in their mouths and this was what helped them to kill their prey in recent years this has been completely debunked and it turns out that Komodo dragons are slightly venomous this Venom rapidly decreases blood pressure of the victim and sends the victim into shock this renders it too weak to fight and then the Komodo dragons are easily able to finish them off strangely it's not only the Komodo dragon that's slightly venomous as many of the previously featured monitor lizards are also slightly venomous in some very rare cases they do go after humans but so far there's only been five or six fatal attacks but these giant reptiles are called dragons for a reason as they can reach a maximum length of around 3.1 meters and can reach a maximum weight of around 166 kilograms this means that they easily dwarfed every other lizard in the world and the Komodo dragon is a true giant if you think I should have featured any other lizards in this video then let me know down in the comment comments below but thank you for watching I hope you enjoyed if you liked it please leave a like And subscribe if you want to see more videos like these but until next time goodbye [Music]

Channel: Tsuki

Views: 145,688

Keywords: komodo dragon, lizards, reptiles, tsuki, education, documentary, largest lizards in the world, lizard, most beautiful lizards in the world, largest lizards, monitor lizard, in the world, most rarest lizards in the world, largest lizard, world largest lizard, biggest lizard in the world, most dangerous lizards in the world, unique lizard in the world, 10 of the largest lizards in the world, large lizards, giant lizards, iguana, largest reptiles, deadly lizards, water monitor, reptile

Id: 4ouLOYIkC8I

Length: 11min 15sec (675 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 15 2023