Megalania

Megalania Temporal range: Pleistocene, 1.5–0.05 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Megalania skeletal reconstruction on Melbourne Museum steps
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Varanidae
Genus:	Varanus
Species:	†V. priscus
Binomial name
†Varanus priscus Owen, 1859[1]
Synonyms
Megalania prisca (Owen, 1859) Notiosaurus dentatus Owen, 1884 Varanus dirus de Vis, 1889 Varanus warburtonensis Zeitz, 1899

Megalania (Varanus priscus) is an extinct species of giant monitor lizard,^[1] part of the megafaunal assemblage that inhabited Australia during the Pleistocene. It is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have existed, but the fragmentary nature of known remains make estimates highly uncertain. Recent studies suggest that most known specimens would have reached around 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) in body length excluding the tail, while some individuals would have been significantly larger.

Megalania is thought to have had a similar ecology to the living Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). The youngest fossil remains of giant monitor lizards in Australia date to around 50,000 years ago.^[2] The first indigenous settlers of Australia might have encountered megalania,^[3] and been a factor in megalania's extinction.^[4][2][5] While originally megalania was considered to be the only member of the titular genus "Megalania", today it is considered a member of the genus Varanus, being closely related to other Australian monitor lizards.