Venom in Lizards

But what do you think of our Goanna isn’t he great Venom in lizards It was always thought that no venomous lizards existed in Australia but they apparently do as I see it from this report I have read danger to us is low but if you are a mouse well I guess you have to go onto the next life. Scientists have known of just two living venomous lizards: the Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard. Turns out there may be more than 1,500 of them. The discovery, reported this week by the journal Nature, alters thinking on the origins of venom. Scientists used to believe that snakes evolved venom between 60 million and 80 million years ago. Lizards were said to have developed it around 100 million years ago, independent of their legless cousins. But after comparing the genetic code for snake and lizard venom, Bryan Fry at the University of Melbourne, Australia discovered that the two reptiles shared nine toxins. This supports the idea that snakes and venomous lizards evolved from a common venomous ancestor, and after connecting the DNA dots, Fry and his colleague’s traced venom to a single origin 200 million years ago. Ah but then I can hear a few murmurs here what about that horrible toxic Lizard that is I believe living on an Indonesian Island the Komodo dragon a huge brute and the biggest lizard in the world. I surely would not wish to come under him or his evil black eye; It has been known for this brute to kill children I read somewhere so Indonesia is off my travel plans still I have been once; that was enough for me I would never go back;It never rated another look as far as I could see and it amazes me how folk fly to Bali from here for holidays; More another day on something else I think.