A lizard is any of about 3,000 species of reptiles in a suborder called Lacertilia. Lizards are most numerous in the tropics, but they are found from the Arctic Circle to deep in the Southern Hemisphere.
Lizards have scales, just like snakes. But lizards are distinguished from snakes in several ways, such as by having external ears, eyes with movable lids, a fused inseparable lower jaw, and four well-developed legs (but some lizards, especially burrowers, are legless).
Lizards range in size from 1 inch to 10 feet in length. The typical lizard is about 12 inches long.
Most species feed on insects and rodents, but some eat plants.
The Modern English word lizard goes back through Middle English liserd and Middle French laisarde to Latin lacerta ("lizard"), the feminine of lacterus ("lizard"). The same Latin word, lacertus, also means "muscle," originally the muscular part of the upper arm. Etymologists take the Latin word back to an Indo-European root meaning "limb." The lizard, then, is named for its muscular appearance.
A monitor is any of about 30 species of tropical Old World lizards (genus Varanus of the family Varanidae).
Monitors were so named from the old belief that they gave warning of the presence of crocodiles. That is, the lizards acted as "monitors," those who warn.
Most monitors have an elongated head and neck, a heavy body, a long tail, and well-developed legs.
The smallest monitor grows to 8 inches. But some species are very large. The earless monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis), found in Borneo, grows to 16 inches long. The perenty (Varanus giganteus), of Australia, grows to 8 feet. And the two-banded, or water, monitor (Varanus salvator), of South Asia, grows to 9 feet.
The largest monitor, in fact, the largest living lizard of any kind is the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).
Komodos are named after the little island they inhabit, Komodo Island (along with a few neighboring islands), Indonesia. The wild, rugged island was barely known till the now-famous lizards were discovered there about 1912.
The lizards are called Komodos, Komodo lizards, or, because of their large size, Komodo dragons.
Komodos are black or dull brown and live in burrows as deep as 30 feet. They grow to 10 feet long, weigh up to 300 pounds, and may live up to 100 years.
Komodos eat carrion and eggs as their main diet. But they can run fast, and sometimes they catch and eat wild pigs and small deer-even smaller Komodos. They have been known to attack and kill humans.
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Encyclopaedia Britannica Ready Reference 2004 (CD-ROM).
The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1989.
