巨蜥

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巨蜥属
化石时期:中新世到現代
巨斑泽巨蜥 Varanus salvator macromaculatus
科学分类 编辑
界: 动物界 Animalia
门: 脊索动物门 Chordata
纲: 爬行綱 Reptilia
目: 有鳞目 Squamata
科: 巨蜥科 Varanidae
属: 巨蜥属 Varanus
Merrem, 1820
模式種
饰纹巨蜥 Varanus varius
White, 1790
亚属

巨蜥巨蜥屬学名Varanus)的蜥蜴,包括了所有蜥蜴中最重的科莫多龍及最長的薩氏巨蜥。牠們的最近親是蛇蜥科毒蜥屬[1]

命名[编辑]

巨蜥屬的學名是衍生自阿拉伯語的 「ورل」,意思是蜥蜴[2]

特徵[编辑]

巨蜥如其名都是體型巨大的,最短的也有0.8米長。牠們的長,尾巴及爪都很強壯,四肢發育良好。牠們大部份都是陸生的,也有棲息於樹上及半水生的。差不多所有巨蜥都是肉食性的,會吃哺乳類、鳥類、魚類、蛋、昆蟲類以及爬行類,只有葛氏巨蜥是吃果實的。[3]牠們是卵生的,每次生7-37隻蛋,牠們會將蛋埋在土中或藏在空心樹墩中。[4]

分佈[编辑]

巨蜥属的分布范围非常广泛,属下物种遍布北非西亚中亚南亚东亚东南亚澳洲

演化歷史[编辑]

巨蜥的代謝率較高,有多種感官來捕獵獵物。研究發現巨蜥,包括科莫多龍有輕微的毒素(可使獵物流血不止)。[1]由於蛇蜥科也是含有毒素,因而有學者認為所有有毒的蜥蜴是源自一個共同祖先,即Toxicofera演化支假說。[1]也有學者指蛇較為接近巨蜥,而多於其他現存的蜥蜴。後來這個理論被修改,將蛇改為鬣蜥亞目蛇蜥亚目的姊妹分類。[1]

更新世,如古巨蜥的巨型巨蜥是生活在東南亞澳洲

一些巨蜥似乎是可以單性生殖的。[5]

智商[编辑]

巨蜥非常聰明,一些物種甚至可以數數。[6]聖地牙哥動物園,一項研究將不同數目的蝸牛餵給非洲巨蜥,發現牠們可以數數到六。[6][7]尼羅河巨蜥是會合作覓食:一隻巨蜥會引開母鱷魚離開巢穴,其他的則進入吃鱷魚蛋。[6]作為餌誘的巨蜥之後會回來一同吃蛋。[6][7]華盛頓史密森尼國家動物園(Smithsonian National Zoological Park)的科莫多龍可以辨認出動物園管理員,且似乎也有不同的性格。[7]

飼養[编辑]

正在接受護理的受傷巨蜥。

蜥是爬行類寵物市場的常客,當中普遍的是草原巨蜥,因為牠們體型細小、價廉,性格較為平靜。[2]尼羅河巨蜥、南非白喉巨蜥澤巨蜥紅樹巨蜥翡翠巨蜥科莫多龍都有被飼養繁殖。[2]飼養的巨蜥需要隱藏的地方及適合的基床。[2]籠內須有足以整條巨蜥進入的水池。[2]在野外,巨蜥會吃任何能夠駕馭的東西;但飼養下的會吃蟋蟀超級麥皮蟲齧齒目,有時也可以熟蛋、蚯蚓餌魚[2]不過,由於牠們依然具有掠食者本性及體型龐大,將牠們作為寵物也帶有危險性。

保育狀況[编辑]

巨蜥屬是受到《瀕危野生動植物種國際貿易公約》附錄二的保護。在印度南部的坦米爾納德邦及其他部份,捕捉或殺死巨蜥是非法的。這些地區過往都有食用巨蜥物種的肉[8]。除了在印度南部,尼泊爾亦有人以巨蜥的肉作食用或醫藥用途[9]。在泰國、澳大利亞及西非亦曾聽聞有人食用巨蜥。

南非白喉巨蜥

下属物种[编辑]

以下是巨蜥屬的物種[10]

參考文獻[编辑]

  1. ^ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Fry, B.G.; Vidal, N; Norman J.A.; Vonk F.J.; Scheib, H.; Ramjan S.F.R; Kuruppu S.; Fung, K.; Hedges, B.; Richardson M.K.; Hodgson, W.C.; Ignjatovic, V.; Summerhays, R.; Kochva, E. Early evolution of the venom system in lizards and snakes. Nature. February 2006, 439: 584–8 [2009-08-26]. doi:10.1038/nature04328. (原始内容存档于2009-04-19). 
  2. ^ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Robert George Sprackland. Giant lizards. Neptune, NJ: T.F.H. Publications. 1992: 61. ISBN 0-86622-634-6. 
  3. ^ Greene, Harry W. Diet and Arboreality in the Emerald Monitor, Varanus Prasinus, With Comments on the Study of Adaptation. Field Museum of Natural History. 1986. ISBN 9998057760. 
  4. ^ Bauer, Aaron M. Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G. , 编. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. 1998: 157–159. ISBN 0-12-178560-2. 
  5. ^ Smith, Kerri. Dragon virgin births startle zoo keepers. Nature. [2006-12-20]. (原始内容存档于2021-03-09). 
  6. ^ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 King, Dennis & Green, Brian. Goannas: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. University of New South Wales Press. 1999: 43. ISBN 0-86840-456-X. 
  7. ^ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Pianka, E.R.; King, D.R. and King, R.A. Varanoid Lizards of the World. Indiana University Press. 2004. 
  8. ^ Meats We Also Eat. The Telegraph India. 2017-01-08 [2018-08-12]. (原始内容存档于2018-08-12) (英语). 
  9. ^ Ghimire, H. R., Phuyal, S., & Shah, K. B. Protected species outside the protected areas: People's attitude, threats and conservation of the Yellow Monitor (Varanus flavescens) in the Far-western Lowlands of Nepal. Journal for Nature Conservation. 2014, 22 (6): 497–503. doi:10.1016/j.jnc.2014.08.003. 
  10. ^ Varanus Merrem, 1820. GBIF. [2023-06-07]. (原始内容存档于2023-05-31). 
  11. ^ 11.0 11.1 Welton, Luke J., Scott L. Travers, Cameron D. Siler & Rafe M. Brown. 2014. Integrative Taxonomy and Phylogeny-based Species Delimitation of Philippine Water Monitor Lizards (Varanus salvator Complex) with Descriptions of Two New Cryptic Species. Zootaxa. 3881(3); 201–227. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3881.3.1
  12. ^ Luke J. Welton, Cameron D. Siler, Daniel Bennett, Arvin Diesmos, M. Roy Duya, Roldan Dugay, Edmund Leo B. Rico, Merlijn Van Weerd and Rafe M. Brown. 2010. A Spectacular New Philippine Monitor Lizard reveals a Hidden Biogeographic Boundary and a Novel Flagship Species for Conservation. Biology Letters. 6 (5): 654–658. doi: dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.0119.
  13. ^ Carlos J. Pavón-Vázquez, Damien Esquerré, Alison J. Fitch, Brad Maryan, Paul Doughty, Stephen C. Donnellan and J. Scott Keogh. 2022. Between A Rock and A Dry Place: Phylogenomics, Biogeography, and Systematics of Ridge-tailed Monitors (Squamata: Varanidae: Varanus acanthurus complex). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. In Press, 107516. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107516
  14. ^ Valter Weijola, Fred Kraus, Varpu Vahtera, Christer Lindqvist and Stephen C. Donnellan. 2017. Reinstatement of Varanus douarrha Lesson, 1830 As A Valid Species with Comments on the Zoogeography of Monitor Lizards (Squamata : Varanidae) in the Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. Australian Journal of Zoology. DOI: 10.1071/ZO16038
  15. ^ Maryan B, Oliver PM, Fitch AJ and O'Connell M. 2014. Molecular and Morphological Assessment of Varanus pilbarensis (Squamata: Varanidae), with a description of a new species from the southern Pilbara, Western Australia. Zootaxa. 3768(2): 139-158.
  16. ^ J. Sean Doody, Hugh James, Kim Colyvas, Colin R. Mchenry and Simon Clulow. 2015. Deep Nesting in A Lizard, Déjà Vu Devil's Corkscrews: First Helical Reptile Burrow and Deepest Vertebrate Nest. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. DOI: 10.1111/bij.12589
  17. ^ Valter Weijola, Stephen Donnellan and Christer Lindqvist. 2016. A New Blue-tailed Monitor Lizard (Reptilia, Squamata, Varanus) of the Varanus indicus group from Mussau Island, Papua New Guinea. ZooKeys. 568: 129-154. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.568.6872
  18. ^ Paul Doughty, Luke Kealley, Alison Fitch and Stephen C. Donnellan. 2014. A New Diminutive Species of Varanus from the Dampier Peninsula, western Kimberley region, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum. 29 128–140.
  19. ^ Valter Weijola and Fred Kraus. 2023. Two New Species of Monitor Lizards (Squamata: Varanus) endemic to the Louisiade and Tanimbar Archipelagos with A Key to the Subgenus Euprepiosaurus. Journal of Natural History. 57(13-16); 947-975. DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2023.2218574

外部連結[编辑]