Guinealizard

An illustration of the guinealizard pair from 1904.

The **geuinealizard** (*Adalosaurus tripoda*) is an original species designed and collaborated by User:GurgiFan57. It is a unique species of monitor lizard that is native to Papua New Guinea's rainforests, wetlands, and humid open environments, being adapted to stand and run on its back legs.

## Appearance and anatomy

The guinealizard is a close relative of the *Bennett's long-tailed monitor* of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The guinealizard reaches the length of up to 220 centimeters (7.3 feet) long and usually weighs around 15 kilograms (33 lbs). Its scaly skin is predominantly deep brown with some yellowish-blonde stripes along the back, neck, and tail. Its skin is lighter pale in color on the feet, hands, and underbelly. The guinealizard has a powerful jaw, and its teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals, which become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. Like all monitors, they have forked tongues, with highly developed olfactory properties. As an adaptation for its environment, it is capable of standing upright for prolonged periods of time and is able to run on its hind legs; this has led historical researchers to mistaken it for a living non-avian dinosaur.

## Behavior and ecology

The guinealizard lives in various forested environments (mainly rainforests and forested wetlands) and open spaces, having an ecological niche similarly to the South American tegus. The guinealizard is a diurnal animal, being active throughout the day except during the hottest or coldest hours, sleeping in shady areas when the outside temperature is hot or sleeping in large caves and similar structures when the outside temperature is cold. Like all other monitor lizards, guinealizards possess venom glands in their lower jaws, giving them a noticeably venomous bite. It is a highly arboreal lizard. It can hang onto branches with its rear legs, and occasionally use its tail as a prehensile grip. The primary function of the tail, however, is as a counterbalance when leaping from branch to branch. As in some *Varanus* species, the tail also may be used for defense, as captive specimens may attempt to lash keepers with their tails. This species occasionally is seen in the pet trade, but has a reputation for aggression and unpredictability. Although they are known to rest and bask in trees, they can sleep on the ground.

### Diet

Like its close relatives, the guinealizard is and carnivorous animal.The teeth of the guinealizard do not resemble those of other monitor species, which typically are blunt, peglike, and face slightly rearward. Their upper teeth are long, fang-like, set vertically in the jawbone, adapted to hooking into fast-moving prey such as birds, bats, and rodents. Their lower teeth are housed in a fleshy sheath. In the wild, the guinealizard is the top predator in New Guinea, feeding on birds (such as *Cacatua* sp.), eggs, small mammals (such as rats and bandicoots), frogs, reptiles, and carrion. Natives have reported that it can take down pigs, deer, and hunting dogs, and hauls its prey into the canopy to consume it. Captive specimens have been known to eat fish, frogs, rodents, chickens, and dog food.

### Behavior and intelligence

The guinealizard has an higher intelligence compared with most lizards, being most comparable to a tegu's in terms of its brain size.

### Reproduction

The guinealizard is oviparous, producing a clutch consisting of up to five eggs, each weighing 10.5–11.5 grams (0.37–0.41 oz) and measuring about 2 by 4.5 centimeters (0.79 by 1.77 inches). As many as three clutches are laid throughout the year; clutches have been laid by captives in January, March, April, November, and December. The female guinealizard lays her eggs in arboreal termite nests. The eggs hatch between 160 and 190 days later, typically from June to November, after which the young eat the termites and the termite's eggs within minutes of hatching. Sexual maturity is reached in about one year, and the species has an average lifespan of up to 30 years.

## Trivia

During the early 20th century, when the species was discovered, the guinealizard was erroneously thought to be the late-surviving non-avian dinosaur, due to its appearance and its ability to run on its hind legs. As such, it was featured in many zoos and paraded as "The Last Dinosaur" by scientists and zoologists. However, during the 1970s, doubts started to creep in as genetic studies found that the guinealizard was not a dinosaur at all, but a lizard with dinosaur-like traits. The guinealizard dinosaur myth was finally put to rest during the late 1980s, when a Peruvian biologist, Francisco Turez, found the guinealizard to be a member of a monitor lizard family closely related to long-tailed monitors. Despite this, showcasing the guinealizard as a living dinosaur remains popular in sideshow zoos.