zwierzęta: Lizard

Evidence: 64 • authority: 62

Most lizards are quadrupedal with a side-to-side swaying gait , although some lizards are capable of running on hindlimbs . Some lineages (known as " legless lizards ") have secondarily lost their limbs and developed a snake-like elongated body due to convergent evolution . Some lizards, such as the arboreal Draco , are capable of gliding flight using fanned-out gular membranes and costal patagia as wings . They are often territorial , the males fighting off other males and signalling, often with bright colours, to attract mates and to intimidate rivals. Lizards are mainly carnivorous, often being ambush predators; smaller lizard species eat insects and other invertebrates , while the larger monitor lizards can prey upon tetrapods as big as water buffalo. Larger species, such as monitor lizards, can feed on larger prey including fish, frogs, birds, mammals and other reptiles. Prey may be swallowed whole and torn into smaller pieces. Both bird and reptile eggs may also be consumed as well. Gila monsters and beaded lizards climb trees to reach both the eggs and young of birds. Despite being venomous, these species rely on their strong jaws to kill prey. Mammalian prey typically consists of rodents and leporids ; the Komodo dragon can kill prey as large as water buffalo. Dragons are prolific scavengers , and a single decaying carcass can attract several from 2 km (1.2 mi) away. A 50 kg (110 lb) dragon is capable of consuming a 31 kg (68 lb) carcass in 17 minutes. [ 42 ] Lizards make use of their senses of sight, touch, olfaction and hearing like other vertebrates . The balance of these varies with the habitat of different species; for instance, skinks that live largely covered by loose soil rely heavily on olfaction and touch, while geckos depend largely on acute vision for their ability to hunt and to evaluate the distance to their prey before striking. Monitor lizards have acute vision, hearing, and olfactory senses. Some lizards make unusual use of their sense organs: chameleons can steer their eyes in different directions, sometimes providing non-overlapping fields of view, such as forwards and backwards at once. Lizards lack external ears, having instead a circular opening in which the tympanic membrane (eardrum) can be seen. Many species rely on hearing for early warning of predators, and flee at the slightest sound. [ 14 ]

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

Lizard is the common name used for all squamate reptiles that are not snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians or "worm lizards"), encompassing over 7,000 species. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. Extant lizard species vary in size from the 13.5 mm (0.53 in) nano-chameleon and the 14–18 mm (0.55–0.71 in) Jaragua dwarf gecko to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon. Most lizards are quadrupedal with a side-to-side swaying gait, although some lizards are capable of running on hindlimbs. Some lineages (known as "legless lizards") have secondarily lost their limbs and developed a snake-like elongated bod…

Evidence: 70 • authority: 72

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large reptile of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Dasami, and Gili Motang. The largest extant population lives within the Komodo National Park in Eastern Indonesia. It is the largest extant species of lizard, with the males growing to a maximum length of 3 m (10 ft) and weighing up to 150 kg (330 lb). As a result of their size, which is exceptional among reptiles, Komodo dragons are apex predators, dominating the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey; juveniles take small prey like invertebrates or birds, and…

Evidence: 65 • authority: 77

Komodo dragons are versatile predators, and they survived to the present by switching their diet to smaller prey such as large reptiles, mammals, and birds. Only relatively recently, humans introduced the deer and wild pigs that constitute the staple diet of large Komodo dragons today. Komodo monitors have secondarily evolved to become ambush predators, lying in wait along trails for large prey such as small deer or wild pigs. When foraging for smaller prey such as mammals and snakes, Komodo dragons forage widely like other monitors. Juvenile Komodos are active, widely foraging predators. The diet includes insects, small to large vertebrates (lizards, snakes, rodents, monkeys, wild boars, deer, and water buffalo ), bird and sea turtle eggs, as well as carrion. Deer make up about 50% of the adult diet. Adults also prey upon the young of their own species. Juvenile Komodos are highly arboreal, which may protect them from being eaten by their larger, less agile brethren. These monitors can detect airborne volatile oils released by decomposition of carcasses, which leads lizards on long feeding excursions. smaller species also feed extensively on invertebrates, including centipedes, large insects, earthworms, crustaceans, and snails). Many monitor lizards are top predators in the communities in which they live. Varanids are very active lizards that forage widely, using their forked tongues extensively to locate and discriminate among their prey by scent (vision and sound are also used). When foraging, V. gouldii hunt by smell, swinging their long necks and heads from side-to-side, constantly flicking out their long forked, very snake-like, tongues, searching for scent trails and sweeping over as big an arc as possible so that they cover as much ground as possible. Upon detecting a scent signal, these monitors follow the trail to the source, usually a burrow, and dig up the intended prey. Digging is methodical, using the forearms and sharp claws of the forefeet with the pointed snout, mouth, and sharp teeth right in between ever ready to snatch up prey as they dash to escape. Sand monitors consume many geckos captured in their diurnal retreats, dead-end burrows. Many diurnal species of lizards are also eaten ( Ctenophorus, Ctenotus, Lerista, Lialis, Menetia, Moloch, Pogona , as well as other Varanus , including V. brevicauda, V. caudolineatus, V. gilleni , and V. gouldii ). They also eat reptile eggs, baby mammals, and baby birds. These lizards very probably eat any other lizard that they can catch. Among specimens examined, the largest relative prey mass was a Pogona minor estimated to weigh about 0.88 oz (25 g) eaten by a V. gouldii that weighed 6.3 oz (180 g), or about 13.9% of its weight.

Evidence: 60 • authority: 72

The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is widely considered to be the second-largest lizard species, after the Komodo dragon. It is distributed from eastern and northeastern India and Bangladesh, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, through southern China and Hainan Island in the east to Mainland Southeast Asia and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Lombok, the Riau Archipelago, and Sulawesi. It is one of the most widespread monitor lizards. The Asian water monitor has a natural affinity towards water, inhabiting the surroundings of lakes, rivers, ponds, swamps, and various riparian habitats, including sewers, ci…

Evidence: 60 • authority: 72

Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus Varanus, the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the southern United States as an invasive species. About 94 species are recognized. Monitor lizards have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. The adult length of extant species ranges from 20 cm (7.9 in) in some species such as Varanus sparnus, to over 3 m (10 ft) in the case of the Komodo dragon, though the extinct megalania (Varanus priscus) may have reached lengths of more than 7 m (23 ft). Most monitor species are terrestrial, but many are also arboreal or semiaquatic. While most monitor…

Evidence: 60 • authority: 72

Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. The predator-prey relationship is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the host) and parasitoidism (which always does, eventually). It is distinct from scavenging on dead prey, though many predators also scavenge; it overlaps with herbivory, as seed predators and destructive frugivores are predators. Predation behaviour varies significantly depending on the organism. Many predators, especially carnivores, have evolved distinct hunting strategies. Pursuit predation involves the active search for an…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea and suborder Anguimorpha. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous lizards, includes the living genus Varanus and a number of extinct genera more closely related to Varanus than to the earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus). Varanus includes the Komodo dragon (the largest living lizard), crocodile monitor, savannah monitor, the goannas of Australia and Southeast Asia, and various other species with a similarly distinctive appearance. Their closest living relatives are the earless monitor lizard and Chinese crocodile lizard. The oldest members of the family are known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.

Evidence: 49 • authority: 62

Encompassing 40 families and about 3,000 species , lizards offer a tremendous variety in color, appearance, and size. Due to their smooth, shiny appearance, lizards can appear slimy or slippery; their skin is actually very dry due to a lack of pores to excrete lubricants. For example, lizards in the Scincomorpha superfamily, which include skinks (such as the blue-tailed skink), often have shiny, iridescent scales that appear moist. Like all other lizards, they are dry-skinned and generally prefer to avoid water. All lizards are capable of swimming if needed and a few (such as the Nile monitor) are quite comfortable in aquatic environments. While advancing their own survival and reproduction , lizards also provide important benefits to human beings. In particular, they are significant predators of pest species, such as insects and rodents . Some, such as iguanas in Central America , are eaten as food, while a number of species are kept as pets. In addition, they add to the human enjoyment of nature, such as seeing the color change in a chameleon or the iridescent color in a skink . Very few lizards are harmful to people. Many lizards can change color in response to their environments or in times of stress. The most familiar example is the chameleon , but more subtle color changes occur in other lizard species as well (most notably the anole, also known as the "house chameleon" or "chamele"). Anolis carolinensis , a common lizard of North America, can change color and is often called a chameleon, but true chameleons are limited to Africa and Madagascar .

Evidence: 49 • authority: 88

Diet of a large carnivorous lizard, <i>Varanus varius</i>. The diet of a population of lace monitors, Varanus varius , at Lake Burrendong was examined over the spring, summer and autumn seasons. Carrion dominated the diet; it was eaten consistently in all seasons by all the monitors and was generally supplemented by live mammalian kills and invertebrates. Nestling birds and rabbits as well as bird and reptile eggs were eaten mainly during the flush periods of the spring and early summer. The data reported here agree with other reports for the genus Varanus : that they are generalist carnivorous predators and scavengers.

Evidence: 49 • authority: 92

Killing behaviors in rodents: from predation to infanticide.. Killing is the most extreme behavior that an animal can perform toward another. Rodents are one of the best examples of evolutionary adaptation, being the mammals with the highest number of species and having developed an impressive variety of forms and behaviors, which allow them to live and thrive in the most disparate habitats across all continents except for Antarctica. Moreover, rodents are the most widely employed animal model in biological research. An appropriate knowledge of the ethology of rodents is of particular importance both for basic science and for the employment of these animals as animal models. Since they are…

Evidence: 44 • authority: 92

The impacts of linear infrastructure on terrestrial vertebrate populations: A trait-based approach.. While linear infrastructures, such as roads and power lines, are vital to human development, they may also have negative impacts on wildlife populations up to several kilometres into the surrounding environment (infrastructure-effect zones, IEZs). However, species-specific IEZs are not available for the vast majority of species, hampering global assessments of infrastructure impacts on wildlife. Here, we synthesized 253 studies worldwide to quantify the magnitude and spatial extent of infrastructure impacts on the abundance of 792 vertebrate species. We also identified the extent to which sp…