Skip to main content

Butikaw

Varanus bitatawa
Today's animal goes by two different common names. The first is the titles of this post- Butikaw. This is the name given to the Lizard by the local residents. The second is Northern Seirra Madre Forest Monitor Lizard. Which is a bit of a mouthful. You can see why we'll be using the shorter name, right?

The Butikaw is actually a relatively new species to science-- they were first described and catalgoed as a species only a few years ago. The Butikaw is quite notable because it is one of only three frugivorous Monitor Lizard species in the entire world. They are actually close relatives to the Komodo Dragon, which makes their diet all the more surprising!

Doubly interesting is that this is a new species that is very, very large. Oftentimes the new animals that we find are very small, and are not as easily noticed. The Butikaw can grow to be 2m long! Granted, the indigenous people of the region had known about the large reptiles for hundreds of years, but it wasn't until 2001 that biologists noticed a picture and began to investigate. They also probably avoided detection because they rarely come to the ground. They live as high as 60ft up in the trees, and may only descend once a week for a very short period of time.
IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Philippines
Size :  Length up to 6.5ft (2m)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Squamata
Family : Varanidae -- Genus : Varanus -- Species : V. bitatawa
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2018 at 3:50 AM

    Two meters? That's quite big, definitely bigger than my dog. How can such a big animal remain undetected by the scientific community for years?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed ...
Post a Comment
Read more