Varanidea Venom

[Dana C]

I read an interesting article regarding evidence of venom in various varanid species including V. abligularis, (both varieties).
http://eebweb.arizona.edu/courses/Ecol437/FryEA2005_Nature_VenomEvolution.pdf. I don't really have any comment but that it is interesting. Evidently, how it effects humans varies from person to person and the method of envenomization is a lower jaw, (mandible) function. Effects can include swelling, nausea, chills, lowered respiration and blood pressure and others.

For those of you that like to learn at a deeper level than hearsay and unsupported claims this web site is very helpful. It is exclusively about varanidea however and doesn't cover Tegus.

http://varanidae.org/home

 

[dragonmetalhead]

In recent years, they've found toxic elements in the saliva of many different lizards, including a species of bearded dragon. Some scientists use a clade called Toxicofera (sorry if I spelled it wrong) which encompasses all "venomous" lizards. I know you can get sick from an iggy bite and I've heard of people having mild allergic reactions to beardie saliva, so I'm not surprised.

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Oh, and the first link is no good.

 

[james.w]

Here is some more info from Dr Bryan Fry.

https://sites.google.com/site/venomousdangerous/lizards/venomous-lizards-of-the