Komodo dragon
Genetic analysis of mtDNA shows the lace monitor to be the closest relative (sister taxon) of the Komodo dragon, with their common ancestor diverging from a lineage that gave rise to the crocodile monitor ("Varanus salvadorii") of New Guinea. The divergence between lace monitor and Komodo dragon lineages has been calculated to have occurred around 13 million years ago, or 11.5 million years ago.