Meet the giant fruit-eating monitor lizard

A spectacular new species of monitor lizard has been discovered in previously unexplored forests in the Philippines. Measuring 2 metres long, Varanus bitatawa is covered in bright yellow spots and eats fruit, unlike its relative the Komodo dragon, which grows up to 3 metres long and eats meat.

The giant lizard was found in forests in the Sierra Madre mountain range on the north-east coast of Luzon, the largest island of the Philippines. Only two other fruit-eating species of monitor lizard are known.

“The discovery of a highly distinctive new species of monitor lizard from heavily populated and highly deforested Luzon island comes as an unprecedented surprise,” says Rafe Brown of the University of Kansas, who identified the new species.

It may have managed to evade biologists until now thanks to its secretive nature and tendency to remain under dense forest cover. But the local Agta and Ilongot people know it well: for them it is an important source of protein.

Journal reference: Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0119