Megalania: The Biggest Lizard Of All Time

Meet the largest lizard to ever live. | Check out more amazing animal content on Love Nature’s KZbin channel / lovenature or find more ways to watch here: bit.ly/3ddMvfm
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SOCIAL MEDIA
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CREDITS
Created by Dylan Dubeau
Executive Producer, Director, and Director of Photography: Dylan Dubeau
Host: Talia Lowi-Merri
Editors: Jim Pitts and Cat Senior
Writer: Lauren Greenwood
Producer, Camera Operator: Andres Salazar
Art by Danielle Dufault
Model Artist: Qingyu Li - Beauty of the Beasts Figurines & Collectibles
Additional Images courtesy of Roman Uchytel
Stock media provided by Pond5, Envato, Alamy and Getty Images
Learn more:
bit.ly/3Sw6WnQ
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Taking a deep look at the past and the animals that lived in it.

[@animalogic]

Thanks for watching! Check out more amazing animal content on Love Nature’s KZbin channel kzbin.info or find more ways to watch here: bit.ly/3ddMvfm

[@MysticLGD]

👍

[@BruhBruhBruh36]

👍

[@rosejohnson5127]

The sound effects on this video were so distracting. I really liked this topic though! Monitors are so cool.

[@jjhggdcqz]

Please make a video about quetzalcoatlus.

[@abhishekborgaonkar286]

Looser

[@GuywithaTrexskullonhishead]

Calling this a 'Tyrannosaurus Rex' would actually make sense, it's literally a tyrant lizard king.

[@okami_6]

@@abdecedricc1636 what?

[@slayer2450]

@@abdecedricc1636 ?

[@jasonk.]

@@abdecedricc1636 well, guess who's the dumb here when don't even know the meaning of Tyrannosaurus Rex. 🤣

[@DefHuman]

@@abdecedricc1636 mm I love proper grammar

[@alifandaniakbars.ip.3693]

Don't mind the 10 year old kid comment, you dropped this 👑

[@windtalker4191]

Megalania was the biggest lizard to live on land. Technically, Mosasaurus was the largest lizard to ever exist.

[@demetrialowther727]

Well on the theme of giant reptiles of Australasia and one with a oddly similar name, "Meiolania" was a massive tortoise from New Caledonia, also found on nearby islands and apparently also some fossil evidence in Australia. I believe they were the largest megafauna on New Caledonia and were pretty interesting, namely their distinct horned skulls. Definitely a forgotten beast and worthy of some love.

[@thecrimsonfuckeralucardlor5087]

Drednaw irl

[@abhishekborgaonkar286]

Got that right 👍

[@killdozer7792]

Sadly, the only love it seems to have gotten is an appearance in Zoo Tycoon, specifically its expansion Dinosaur Digs. They were cool, but not my favourite animal of the pack.

[@overthegardenwall7143]

were they related to the carbonemy?

[@Svensk7119]

Nice. Didn't know. Takk skal du ha.

[@DanGamingFan2846]

Megalania is one of my favorite prehistoric creatures of all time. Australia is already scary, but imagine a car-sized carnivorous lizard roaming the Outback.

[@timgersh6787]

ya at that size it eats what ever it wants also running at around 20mph its faster than most thing

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Must I?

[@Terrorwanderer]

Same dude. I just love reptiles, especially the monitor lizards.

[@AirIUnderwater]

NOPE!!!!!

[@dudotolivier6363]

@@AirIUnderwater Nope on and for what ?

[@peterjones819]

Monitor lizards, in general, are awesome and Megalania truly was the crowning achievement for this family of lizards.

[@oiltoast3723]

Nah I think mosasurus is better that monster could kill a t-rex.

[@ziyuan1989]

Asian water monitors are common to be seen here in the rural area of Malaysia here and we Chinese call them 'four legged snakes' , they look quite scary as giant lizards, but at most times are afraid of huamans themselves due to their size, and yes I had scared away (by no hurting) some before😂

[@merryn9000]

@@oiltoast3723 wasn't a monitor though

[@Aidanjacksonkightly_reptiles]

@@merryn9000 It was a varanoid lizard, not quite a varanid (monitor lizard). It's taxonomically nearly as closely related to monitor lizards as modern day earless monitor lizards.

[@Saurian25]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@Aidanjacksonkightly_reptiles How is it a varanoid? A most recent study on them suggested a close relationship to Varanoidea within Anguimorpha, but never said that they were varanoids themselves.

[@thhseeking]

Sir Richard Owen DID NOT discover the first Megalania specimens. He described the specimens which were purchased by the British Museum, and he described it from three vertebrae.

[@geehammer1511]

yeah the research on this channel appears to be a bit rushed, like they don't fact check anything just pull a script from Wikipedia or something.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

That is the second major error in their video

[@SaerosTheDragon]

Regarding the "largest lizard that ever lived" - wouldn't that be a mosasaur? If I'm not mistaken, mosasaurs were squamate lizards and some species were over 10 meters long. Anyway, great episode, monitor lizards are my favorite animals! I hope that paleontologists will some day find a more complete megalania skeleton, maybe even with preserved impressions of its stomach content. Considering mosasaurs, I'd *LOVE* to see an episode about them, a mesozoic lizard equivalent of an orca, probably...

[@GandalfTheTsaagan]

True! Mosasaurs are squamates and they were closely related to varanids and snakes Although, snakes should also be lizards, philogenetically

[@leoornstein3963]

Lizards on land only, excluding snakes and other marines representations.

[@cocoduck7745]

@@GandalfTheTsaagan mossa laid eggs?

[@terriblelizardnbtapioles5279]

yeah, specially since "lizards" are anything within squamata, so M. hoffmannii and T. proriger are the largest

[@GandalfTheTsaagan]

@@cocoduck7745 Probably not since they couldn't go to land and amniote eggs don't fare well underwater. They were most likely ovoviviparous or viviparous, like some snakes today.

[@YouGuessIGuess]

Sometimes I think about how much more incredible our world would be if giant creatures like these still lived.

[@turkeyman100]

And how much more terrifying and dangerous.

[@legendarypussydestroyer6943]

That would make Australia even more Australian

[@thevindudissanayake4652]

nothing i would like better

[@lucasb9285]

They went extint thx to the ice age, we are finally leaving the ice with the globe getting warmer, obce the polds fully melt we finally be post ice age. And since heat is better for megafaune new animals inc

[@birinderwarraich1179]

If this things existed we would be on its menu. Or we would have killed the entire species because of the sheer threat they pose. Homo species that lived in indonesia had it bad

[@adamgreenspan4988]

It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like this, kids like you… should be digesting in my stomach! (Megalania goes with everything)

[@pigeonwithweed3425]

There were already moniterlizards the size of Komodo dragons at that time which was normal. This was a true dragon a massive lizard. Also that slurping sound effect is funny 😁

[@antonboludo8886]

0:26 - Leaping Lizards! What a glutton to burp like that!

[@emilybrackett2840]

0:28 Me after drinking a bottle of soda.

[@partyleswine5155]

A video on the Permian animals, such as Gorgonopsid would be awesome! Still, this was very cool to watch and learn from!

[@Fern_Paleo]

Glad you said largest land bound lizard because everyone knows and loves the amazing lizards that where the mosasaurs

[@holycrusader3119]

mosasaurs werent lizards though, they were very closely related but they were a whole other thing

[@rianfelis3156]

@@holycrusader3119 Mosasaurs were absolutely lizards. Recent studies are inconclusive but they all say the closest living relatives are either the monitor lizards, or snakes, which are also lizards. And both of which raise the speculation that they were also venomous.

[@Fern_Paleo]

@@holycrusader3119 yea mosasaurs along with snakes and other lizards are all lizards

[@holycrusader3119]

@@rianfelis3156 they're closely related but we dont call mosasaurs lizards, we call them mosasaurs.

[@Aidanjacksonkightly_reptiles]

@@holycrusader3119 We call mosasaurs mosasaurs the same way we call iguanas iguanas. They're all still lizards. Mosasaurs were in speculated to be in the group of animals called varanoids which includes modern day monitor lizards and earless monitors, so monitors were far more closely related to mosasaurs than any other non-monitor group of lizards.

[@altithoraxperotorum5133]

Megalania wasn't the only giant reptile in Australia . There was an turtle with horns called meilolania, quinkana a terrestrial crocodile and wonambi an ancient 6 meter long snake

[@erichtomanek4739]

Lord Howe island once had horned tortoises.

[@wash2361]

There was also a mekosuchian called plaudirex that inhabited the rivers and waterways, probably preyed on megafauna and may have reached up to 8 meters long

[@lucasb9285]

6 meterd is not that long for a snake rigth

[@wash2361]

@@lucasb9285 I’d say it’s in the upper medium range for snake size

[@tradehut2782]

how Australians survive is a real mystery

[@darthphilfy]

Not constantly having mass shootings makes it a safer place to live.

[@yaboibuggles8188]

We thrive off the coasts and don’t touch anything we see that knows how to swim

[@issotti482]

Thank you so much for making this video! This is one I recommend! I hope to see a Megaloceros next!

[@isaiahmcguire1822]

Can you guys please do a video on prehistoric cetaceans like Basilosaurus or Dorodon?! Many people don't think about this group.

[@youngstergaming9433]

Loved the video was lovely seeing some stuff on megalania also may I suggest palaoloxodon it's a very interesting elefantine

[@_masssk_]

I just LOVE your guys illustrations, they are amazing

[@janekschmidt9015]

great episode, thanks Talia!

[@allluckyseven]

I had no idea this awesome creature existed! Cool video, and great art!

[@nicogr6227]

You guys should make some videos about the other reptiles of Australia, like the horned tortoise, Mieolania, or the terrestrial crocodile, Quinkana

[@vazak11]

Great coverage!

[@Member3285]

Great narration, cool content. Thanks for the upload!

[@Terra2000Z]

That burp intro 0:18 at the beginning was so satisfying🔥💚🔥!

[@mikeyjhilli]

Ok. So I wasn't the only one who thought that was a burp.

[@stayweird8544]

LOVE THE VID!!!! Could you do a video on Adopodentotis?

[@gattycroc8073]

I would love it if you made a video on Sebecus, Daeodon, Quinkana, and Amphicyon.

[@ChristopherFranklinSr]

Thanks for them info

[@michaelbuick6995]

Megalania is not the largest lizard. It's the largest terrestrial lizard, but Cretaceous mosasaurs are squamates, which makes them true lizards. In fact they're quite closely related to varanids; a clade which includes megalania, the komodo dragon and other lizards commonly referred to as "monitors".

[@eamonahern7495]

The first time I heard of megalania was when watching a documentary that went with the fire theory for their extinction. It based it on stories and rock paintings passed down through generations of aboriginal Australians. Basically the theory was that magalania was cold blooded and needed to bask in the sun in the morning to warm its body. Humans took advantage of this by starting fires to over heat and probably burn any lizards that were a predatory threat. They then consumed the cooked meat.

[@lancegauthier489]

Once again, ask the Aborigines what happened. They were actually there fighting these things and passed the stories down.

[@111LMBL]

@ 0:26 that was a loooong lizard Burp! Lol 😂

[@LarzGustafsson]

Absolutely brilliant!

[@israelhernandez145]

You guys always have the cutest presenters teaching me about amazing animals. Cheers.

[@estervillafane]

Excelente y hermoso documental felicitaciones 👏 👍

[@MourningCoffeeMusic]

Technically mosasaurus is the largest lizard that ever lived and were also distant relatives of monitor lizards.

[@jackthewinter5066]

Always loved komodo dragon family of species!!!

[@JasonBezemer]

Really enjoyed this video, as well as those on some other prehistoric animals. As for ideas, one animal that comes to mind is Pelagornis.

[@flamencoprof]

Gathering the eggs would be a low-risk way of over-exploiting this species to extinction. One for the ladies.

[@macelarul3219]

So we get biger chikens?

[@flamencoprof]

@@macelarul3219 I do not understand your question. Please explain.

[@macelarul3219]

@@flamencoprof i mean you said their eggs wold be easy to be talent right?... Dosent that mean that wold make them a other kind of chicken? Just for the eggs not the meat

[@macelarul3219]

Colected not talent

[@muhammadeisa1459]

I love your channel and Paleontology is my favorite scientific discipline.

[@betchface752]

The Le champs magnetic field excursion happened about 48,000 years ago and lasted a about 900 years. Ancient petrified wood forests in Australia dating back 47-49000 years ago indicate extreme solar radiation or an extreme extra solar event is what could have caused an extinction event. This also coincides with cave paintings that started appearing around the same time as well as the use of red ocher as sun block and cave paint.

[@sheck]

0:26 the roar was just someone burping 😂

[@mindripperful]

An Australian Komodo Dragon. As in a Komodo Dragon with the temper of an Australian. Why am I not surprised

[@quentincompson9167]

Multituberculates! Most amazing and successful and overlooked critters ever. :)

[@Ramen2ky]

"this was the biggest lizard to ever exist" Tyrannosaurus rex: Am i a joke to you?

[@raptorzilla0710]

not lizards but you made an attempt

[@6too6scratch6]

Mosasaurus: Bruh

[@albertwalderhaug2601]

Aboriginal Australians were the original dragonslayers in real life. I still like to think Megalania was the ancient inspiration for dragons that has been passed on to other parts of the world.

[@Astrapionte]

Definitely talk about Elephant birds next 🙏🏽

[@danielnunez3846]

This channel is amazing😮‍💨

[@uteliasmajava5210]

"Roar" at 0:25 LMAOF

[@markl4112]

Who made that wonderful drawing?? :)

[@kymanibrown7636]

Could you do a video on the vulture bee and its weird meat honey? is it strange that i kinda wanna try it

[@adiprajapati]

Deinonychus or Brachiosaurus

[@shawnohagan5503]

Great video

[@jr9529]

I love how it burped once it was introduced XD

[@ReeveProductions]

This giant horned turtle sounds amazing!

[@sarban1653]

We should introduce the Komodo dragon to Australia to serve as a proxy for the extinct megalania.

[@ZOMBuckaCurt]

Komodos originated from australia and went to indonesian islands about 50k yrs ago

[@Retiredhandle]

I couldn’t imagine running into one of these after she gave the measurements plus its speed

[@kuitaranheatmorus9932]

Oh yeah the Mega was one badass prehistoric lizard and this video was awesome

[@landak136]

Suggestion? How about scary pre-Mesozoic fish? Pick your weapon: Dunkleosteus or Helicoprion?

[@aris8095]

Hey great work animallogic could you all do a video on the vaquita

[@RagShop1]

For in depth reading on this topic, check out the 2004 book, "Dragons In The Dust" by Ralph Molnar.

[@LarzGustafsson]

Please, do one on the mosasaur. Thank you!

[@dededoi]

great video, can we get a quinkana one?

[@TyreseGRazon]

Please do a sivatherium i love ur videos thank u.

[@ComfyDents]

Tamandua next pls. :D

[@josh-themighty9967]

Please consider making a video about a theropod dinosaur! Tyrannosaurus Rex or Giganotosaurus perhaps?

[@thefatraptor4424]

Where’d you get the megalania model from ???

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

Thats definitely a new ray of light

[@jakerubino3233]

Lol, that sound effect at the end of the info was more fake burp than mega monitor 😂😂🤣

[@charlinalupus3300]

Idea: Maybe a video on Triceratops or Pterodactyl?

[@zac3177]

Can you do a video on the Ivory Billed Woodpecker?

[@sarojandongol1482]

With a name that's just two letters off Megalovania, it does sound cool.

[@TehSymbiote]

the more i see there prehistoric videos the more i appreciate Ark's dino models

[@legionluciano]

Dunkleosteus would be an interesting creature

[@germanomagnone]

personally the Megalania is the most dinosaur-like animal that prehistoric man has ever encountered.

[@germanomagnone]

0:25 he should learn manners (maybe he's done digesting) 🤢🤢🤢 more than a roar that must terrorize, it is more at a burp that only makes me laugh

[@dibershai6009]

And the elephant bird

[@iamsorryforbeingrudebefore1626]

Humans lived with dinosaurs, they called them dragons.

[@dibershai6009]

@@iamsorryforbeingrudebefore1626 The only dinosaurs that humans have ever lived with (and still do) are birds.

[@iamsorryforbeingrudebefore1626]

@@dibershai6009 In almost all ancient civilization there is some sort of recount or legend about some kind of giant lizard beast.

[@williamblansett5786]

Megalania compete with two land crocodiles, two water crocodile and giant komodo dragons.

[@LoverGirl.-]

can we just appreciate the drawings for a moment?

[@jacktheron2900]

next you should do the mosasaur

[@shermanhouston7433]

Mosasaurs were aquatic monitors that would make komodos look tiny and harmless in comparison.

[@TheTbet]

0:25 Didn’t know megalania drunk beer

[@anthonytsuchigumo]

Where did you get those figurines from? Specifically the komodo and titanaboa?

[@adelyn8943]

A little correction; Zaglossus hacketti is no longer considered part of that genus! It is now part of its own genus; Murrayglossus

[@terryenglish7132]

Ah , the old over hunting . Certainly egg gathering rather than direct hunting would be a factor, but that had been going on for tens of thousands of years. Their demise coincides w that of the mega fauna of North America which were killed by the Comet strike of the Younger Dryas. Strikes occured in Africa and South America also . Perhaps Australia as well. If not by the strike itself, then by the "Nuclear Winter" as Earth plunged back into a new ice age having its start back to warmer times quashed by the impacts.

[@Hurricayne92]

I mean I feel that Megalania would have also seen humans as food, likely leading to them being killed out of defence. Also as far as I'm aware there has been no evidence of widespread cooling from something like a meteorite strike in Australia in the last 50,000 years.

[@rhysearch151]

The comet strike theory is complete bunk. Almost all extinctions happened substantially earlier (as in Australia) or much later (as in the arctic and South America). At best it can explain some of the North American extinctions, but even that is doubtful. Human impact remains the theory most consistent with the global pattern of extinctions.

[@terryenglish7132]

@@rhysearch151 Explain all the evidence if you think its bunk.

[@rhysearch151]

@@terryenglish7132 What evidence? There's still debate as to whether there even was an impact at all. If there was, I've already explained how the timing of extinctions doesn't match over most of the planet, disqualifying a YDI as the explanatory factor.

[@kimbratton9620]

Wow that's one huge lizard!!

[@grrttr]

"weighing between 97-1,940 kg (214-4,277 lb), but the fragmentary nature of known remains make estimates highly uncertain" .wiki

[@mikijwa]

Did you use a burp for the sound effect?

[@kyrionbookshield2205]

Sick. :O I love it...

[@jonathanmendoza7909]

You should make a video on the island fox

[@xscaliersolid1194]

Looks like I've got my next Jurassic-Park-style project...

[@StephenSternGoth]

For those who don't know the pleistocene area was probably my favorite and that's the era of the rise of mammals I like biotherium just cuz the name like a giant giraffe

[@salaltschul3604]

We've still got goannas! But thankfully they're less....scary.

[@SanRafaelSwell]

Mosasaurs are the largest lizards known to have ever lived. V. priscus is the largest terrestrial lizard known to have lived.

[@takenname8053]

Very NICE

[@woobacca9215]

can you guys do one on megistotherium?

[@tamashubertvarga1068]

DO HOATZIN BIRD PLEASE. Sorry for screaming but we need it in animalogic style. Hugs

[@thedogman7846]

Please do something on the eurasian cave lion!!!

[@liambrandley2716]

Could you do videos on dinosaurs like megaraptorans or abelisaurs?

[@jacobrasberry7139]

The largest lizard of all time is actually Tylosaurus Proriger. The largest individual is named 'Bonker' and has size estimates of up to 18 meters and 20 tons.

[@AnimeShinigami13]

My second favorite australian animal after the cockatoo. :3 When I read SCP and think of 682 I think of one of these guys with a mane.

[@Sunyboy1247]

can yall do a video on Dire Wolves?