Varanus sivalensis

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Varanus sivalensis
Temporal range: Pliocene to Pleistocene, 5.3–0.04  Ma
VaranusSivalensis.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Anguimorpha
Family: Varanidae
Genus: Varanus
Species:
V. sivalensis
Binomial name
Varanus sivalensis
Falconer, 1858

Varanus sivalensis is an extinct species of monitor lizard that originally lived in India in the Pinjor Formation during the Pliocene through the late Pleistocene. [1] As its name implies, it was broadly comparable in size to the extant Komodo dragon.

References

  1. Hocknull, Scott; Piper, Philip; Van den Bergh, Gert; Due, Rokus; Morwood, Michael; Kurniawan, Iwan (2009). "Dragon's Paradise Lost: Palaeobiogeography, Evolution and Extinction of the Largest-Ever Terrestrial Lizards (Varanidae)". PLOS ONE. 4 (9) e7241. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.7241H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007241 . PMC   2748693 . PMID   19789642.