New Giant Double Penis Lizard

Unprecedented Surprise

Varanus bitatawa, that’s its scientific name.

Or you can call it the Northern Sierra Madre Forest Monitor Lizard, obviously because it was found in the Sierra Madre Forest in the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

And in any which way, it is a sure unprecedented surprise that in this day and age a giant species, way over 6 feet in length (over two meters) and living in a highly inhabited island could elude science for this long. Luzon is the main island of the Philippine Islands and is home to many millions of people. Manila or Metro Manila, the capital city is situated in Luzon and is home to over 11 million people.

News Indeed

If you would google that new name (Varanus bitatawa) you would find dozens of dozens of news articles from the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and from virtually everywhere else in the world because indeed this is news!

What Else Is New

Another thing, this new species is not carnivorous. So nothing to be scared of folks.

In fact this new lizard is more like and acts more like a bird or a small mammal. They stay and live high up in the trees and eat fruits.

The Bigger News

And the bigger news, I guess also stems from the fact that this new species of monitor lizards have another surprise, it is endowed with a double penis which surprisingly enough is common to many other lizards, not that we ever want to know about that fact or check them out ourselves.

So what does this mean to the Philippines, a relatively poor nation where obviously global conservation is not really a main concern or if this will ever be a priority, well at least not when you have to compare it to the more pressing need of the survival of many of its poorer populace, which makes up a majority of Filipino families, especially those who have to survive within their daily budget of a couple of US dollars a day.

Welcome News

But as in everything else, this should be welcome news. And at least now the Philippines should be recognized as among the global conservation hotspots and a regional superpower of biodiversity, well that’s what the scientists who studied this new find have reiterated. And they said that it is not hard to imagine that there are still various new species in these places and in the other tropical forests in the region that have yet to be discovered. I don’t think that this would materialize though unless there is constant media attention about this. But I hope, something positive do come out of this new unprecedented find, at least before it's too late for the other yet to discovered new species could be found.

News For Adam

And on a lighter note, I guess somebody can now tell Adam Carolla, host of the famed or infamous Adam Carolla Podcast, a radio program broadcast from Los Angeles about this latest find. And this is regarding something nasty he said about the Philippines and the Filipino people who somebody forgot to tell him make up a big community in California and in LA and whose official language “Tagalog” is not only among the most widely spoken languages within California’s but is also the fifth most widely spoken language in the US of A.

But in case you are among the billions of people who haven’t heard of Adam Carolla or of his well known radio program and you are wondering why.

Well, it is because also at the same time as this unprecedented scientific find is being reported worldwide, he was blabbering out obscenities about boxing’s Manny Pacquiao and that the only good thing that came out of the Philippines is him and how sad it is for the 90M Filipinos that he is their only main source of pride.

But all that I hope is old news as Adam have since given a public apology about that racial rant, here's the link:

Adam Carolla Official Apology to Manny Pacquiao and the Filipino People.

But any rate, at least somebody can now inform Mr. Carolla that the Filipino people have a second source of pride and it is the newest reptile known on earth with a tongue-twister of a name, the Varanus bitatawa Monitor Lizard.

The only one of its kind, only found in the Philippines, the only large species which have eluded science all this time and fortunately scientists have found one alive before it’s too late, as they were only able to see one only after observing some local natives have caught one and were bringing it home to have for supper. Yes, as in to eat. And yes even if dinner was over six and a half feet long, dwarfing the local natives who are mostly under six feet tall.

Other Little Known Forms of Philippine Reptiles

Well, to the locals all these lizards are known as “bayawaks”, whatever they look like or however big they are, and these particular monitors are indeed big.

Anyway “bayawaks” have always been a local delicacy as far as I know. I remember trying one when I was in my pre-teens, don’t care to remember it though, so don’t ask me how it was like.

Now if only these same scientists can go all over the Philippines and study another local form of reptile, the natives call as “buwaya”.

This one stands on its two feet and is commonly found in public offices or in uniform at street corners or they would normally run for public office. And it shouldn’t be hard for anyone to find one nowadays as it is currently National Election Time in the Philippines and if you are ever familiar with Philippine Politics you would know that this time is normally among the most fun-filled times in the entire archipelago, something like “mardi-gras” and multiple “fiestas” all rolled into one. And one last tip, “buwayas” are translated into English as crocodiles. And one can easily spot them in political television ads shedding what we can call as crocodile tears for the Filipino nation.

The Varanus bitatawa is a monitor lizard and closely related to the komodo dragon of nearby Indonesia.

The lizard lives in trees and has only been fortunately noticed by scientists after seeing the local inhabitants bringing one in after being caught to be eaten.