Origin
Varanians are part of the family Varanidae and are considered anatomically superior developed lizards. Among the current lizards have no close relatives, these giants, which can reach 3 m, being considered among the people today's Dragons.
Varans live in the tropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere, especially in South Asia, Australia and Oceania.
Of the 45 known species and subspecies, three are found in Africa.
Varans are also known as Biawak, Goanna or komodo dragons.
Varan Food
Impressionable in size, strength and appearance, Komodo dragons are carnivorous, predatory animals. Despite their heavy appearance, their movements are very quick and skillful when hunting.
They generally feed on small mammals, birds and snakes, but are also capable of killing larger animals such as pigs, deer or goats. The prey is well shaken, then the head is crushed.
Their sharp claws, well-developed jaws and strong teeth make them excellent predators, with no natural enemies. If he manages to escape the attack of a Komodo dragon, the prey is subsequently killed by infections caused by bacteria contained in the saliva of this lizard.
Features Varan
What distinguishes the varans from the rest of the lizards is the existence of a diaphragm and certain peculiarities regarding the shape of the clavicle, tongue and teeth.
The head of the varanids is longer than most other lizards, the neck is well differentiated, the body strong, and the tail compressed laterally is longer than the rest of the body; the limbs are very well developed, with five fingers each with strong claws.
Large, sharp and slightly bent teeth are arranged on the lower part of the jaws. The eyes are dark tan and the bifurcated tongue is light yellow – if you take it out much you can notice the two long horny tips.
All the cousins shed a lot.
The largest of the varans is varanidae komodoensis-the giant Varan or Komodo Varan, the latter name being taken from the island on which it lives – Komodo – one of the islands of Indonesia, located between Flores and Sumbava. The giant reptile, which the indigenous people also call biavak (meaning iguana) also lives in Rintia, Padar and the west of Flores Island.
Being the largest reptile known to date, numerous stories have been circulated about the Komodo Varan; it has been attributed exaggerated lengths of 6-8 m (in reality the male can reach max. 3m, and the female at less than 2m.), it has been stated that their skin is impenetrable to the most modern firearms (they have a very resistant skin, covered by numerous gray-black scales, extremely hard, after ossification of the skin).
These exaggerations are probably caused by the fact that the Komodo snake became known to scientific Zoology only in 1912, as did the okapi or the african forest pig – two other large animals, relatively recently discovered by science.
It is a terrestrial, diurnal and thermophilic animal that spends the night in a pit dug by it. Currently the species is protected by law, this protection measure being motivated by the popularity of varans as a tourist attraction.
Varan Breeding
Adult varans are hunted by crocodiles and pythons, less often by leopards and Eagles.
The mortality rate is very high among the offspring, they are chased by predatory fish, batlans, snakes and even adults of their own species.
The reproduction of this species is a unique example of insect-aided reproduction: the female lays her eggs in an active termite nest.
Termites repair their nest, completely sealing the cavity, and thus build a safe incubator for eggs, which provides them with constant temperature and humidity conditions.
The chicks hatch the following year and escape from the nest when the rains have already soaked the sun-dried exterior of the termite nest well enough.
