A “gigantic lizard” was spotted this week in Guangzhou’s Haizhu District, near Nantian Lu, according to reports circulating in local media.
The reptile was seen on the afternoon of May 23 in a sewage channel near Longdaowei Market and is believed to be an Asian water monitor (圆鼻巨蜥, or ‘round nose lizard’), according to a local expert from the Guangdong Institute of Biological Research quoted by Guangzhou TV.
Monitor lizards are a type of large reptile of which 79 species are presently documented. Native to Asia, Africa and Oceania, one species, specifically the West Nile monitor, is now found in the Americas (southern Florida) as an invasive species.
The legendary Komodo dragon, found on the Indonesian island of Komodo and the largest lizard on our planet, is also a member of the monitor family.
In rare cases, the Asian water monitor has been reported to weigh 75 to 90 kilograms
The expert quoted by Guangzhou TV speculated that the animal is an illegally kept pet that escaped captivity or was released.
If you come across this Jurassic Park-esque creature, do not approach it. By all accounts, getting bitten by a monitor lizard is a woefully unpleasant experience, as studies indicate that all monitors (and perhaps all lizards) are partially venomous.
[Images via Tencent News, Wikipedia]
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