(A Varanus bitatawa, pictured in 2009 in the Philippines. Scientists reported on the "spectacular" discovery a previously unknown species of fruit-eating lizard as big as a full-grown man. Astonished researchers found the secretive but brightly-coloured beast, a close cousin of the fearsome Komodo Dragons of Indonesia, in a hard-to-reach river valley of northern Luzon Island in the Philippines.)
A colorful lizard that is longer than the height of a tall Filipino man and has two penises has been discovered in the northern Philippine island of Luzon. An article posted on MSNBC.com said the reptile, which is a relative of the Komodo dragon—the world's largest lizard—measures about 1.8 meters or more than six feet long.
It is also "one of only three fruit-eating monitor species in the world," the MSNBC article reported. Tagged with the scientific name Varanus bitatawa, the newly discovered lizard is decorated with golden stripes and yellow spots and has huge claws for climbing trees.
A male bitatawa is endowed with a hidden double-penis structure that pops out as needed, which commonly occurs among other reptiles like snakes.
"Lizards keep their male reproductive organs inverted inside their bodies like a sock turned inside out, and when it's time to use them, they evert them, flipping them out of their body and filling them with fluid so they can rigidly protrude for reproduction," Brown said.
"We call this a hemipenis, and lizards have two of them. They have elaborate structures that we assume are unique to each species — we think they have to fit like a lock and key, preventing hybridization between species," he added.
A separate online article from Discover magazine said the discovery "cements the Philippines’ reputation as one of the planet’s most important hotspots of biodiversity."
Although officially discovered by a team of biologists from the University of Kansas led by Wilston Luke, the lizard has long been known by the name bitatawa among indigenous peoples living in the area.
Head herpetologist Rafe Brown expressed his surprise that the creature was only recently found. "I am most impressed that such a large, conspicuous, brightly colored species of monitor lizard escaped the notice of biologists for the past 150 years," the article quoted Brown as saying. "At the same time, we are humbled because the species is not really new — it is only new to us as Western scientists," Brown said. "In fact, resident indigenous communities — the Agta and Ilongot tribes — have known about it for many generations. If only scientists had listened to them earlier!" Last year, international botanists Stewart McPherson and Alastai Robinson published their findings of an unusual plant that eats rodents, which they discovered in Palawan province. (See: Palawan discovery: A living rat trap) Brown said given the "rapid deforestaton in the Philippines, he expects the discovery of the Bitatawa lizard to become a "major conservation priority" in the country.—JV, GMANews.TV
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