{"id":761,"date":"2023-05-29T18:35:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T09:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/?page_id=761"},"modified":"2023-05-29T19:42:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T10:12:32","slug":"varanus-priscus","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/fossils\/vertebrate-fossils\/reptiles\/varanus-priscus\/","title":{"rendered":"Varanus priscus<\/i>"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Varanus prisca<\/em><\/h1>\n

Megalania<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

One of the iconic Australian megafauna, this giant goanna was one of the continent’s apex predators during the Pleistocene. Estimates of the upper bounds of its size are still speculative and debated, but the most recent work suggets that Megalania could have reached up to 5.5 m in length with a maximum weight of 575 kg (about twice the size of a Komodo Dragon).\u00a0 Notwithstanding the uncertainty of these estimates, Megalania was the largest land lizard ever known to have lived and would have been a formidable predator of medium and large animals. Like the extant Komodo Dragon, Megalania was probably venomous.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”765″ img_size=”medium” add_caption=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”767″ img_size=”medium” add_caption=”yes”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Skeletal element:<\/strong> vertebra
\nSpecimen number:<\/strong> SAMA P25033
\nGeological age:<\/strong> Pleistocene
\nState\/territory:<\/strong> South Australia
\nLocality\/site:<\/strong> Cooper Creek[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]Skeletal element:<\/strong> vertebra
\nSpecimen number:<\/strong> SAMA P13930
\nGeological age:<\/strong> Pleistocene
\nState\/territory:<\/strong> South Australia
\nLocality\/site:<\/strong> Warburton[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cubW9ycGhvc291cmNlLm9yZyUyRnV2Lmh0bWwlMjMlM0ZtYW5pZmVzdCUzRCUyRm1hbmlmZXN0cyUyRmNmOGNkYzUxLWQ5YjgtNGE4Mi1iNDQ0LTUzNmVkMGY0M2FiOSUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyNTYwJTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNDIwJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIwJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cubW9ycGhvc291cmNlLm9yZyUyRnV2Lmh0bWwlMjMlM0ZtYW5pZmVzdCUzRCUyRm1hbmlmZXN0cyUyRmNjNTU2NmJhLWI5NjEtNDdmMC1iZDk5LTU2M2NiZGU3MWE2MyUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyNTYwJTIyJTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTIyNDIwJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTIwZnJhbWVib3JkZXIlM0QlMjIwJTIyJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNF[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fry, B. G., Wroe, S., Teeuwisse, W., van Osch, M. J., Moreno, K., Ingle, J., … & Norman, J. A. (2009). A central role for venom in predation by Varanus komodoensis<\/em> (Komodo Dragon) and the extinct giant Varanus<\/em> (Megalania<\/em>) priscus<\/em>.\u00a0Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/i>,\u00a0106<\/i>(22), 8969-8974.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text] Varanus prisca Megalania   One of the iconic Australian megafauna, this giant goanna was one of the continent’s apex predators during the Pleistocene. Estimates of the upper bounds of its size are still speculative and debated, but the most recent work suggets that Megalania could have reached up to 5.5 m in length […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":0,"parent":96,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-761","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nVaranus priscus - VAMP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.flinders.edu.au\/vamp\/fossils\/vertebrate-fossils\/reptiles\/varanus-priscus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Varanus priscus - VAMP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text] Varanus prisca Megalania   One of the iconic Australian megafauna, this giant goanna was one of the continent’s apex predators during the Pleistocene. 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