# The Earless 'Monitor' Lizard.....



## ophidianman (Sep 5, 2008)

This amazing looking Lizard reminds me of the Dragon Snake Xenodermus javanicus.



New, exclusive picture of Lanthonotus borneensis, the earless "monitor" lizard now on exhibit at I-Zoo in Japan. This must be one of the most mysterious reptiles in the world, and very few have ever been seen. It is currently in its own family, Lanthonotidae. It was discovered already in 1877 but even preserved museum specimens are ultra rare. How wonderful would it be to establish these animals in captivity.


----------



## varanus87 (Jan 30, 2012)

ophidianman said:


> This amazing looking Lizard reminds me of the Dragon Snake Xenodermus javanicus.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It would b amazing but I fear more needs to be found out and researched in its natural environment before trying in captivity without needless deaths ...:no1:


----------



## varanus87 (Jan 30, 2012)

To many sp have been taken from the wild because they are the new hit topic and lead to suffer and die because we tried to save them to early without proper research and field studies ... Take for instance Sumatran rhinos and Javan rhinos ... Taken out of the wild for captivity to save the numbers but 90 percent of both sp shipped out to other countries died within a year ... Lessening to population still ... It's why the indo government won't let them out again ...:2thumb:


----------



## ophidianman (Sep 5, 2008)

varanus87 said:


> It would b amazing but I fear more needs to be found out and researched in its natural environment before trying in captivity without needless deaths ...:no1:


I agree with you Sir but allegedly they aren't too difficult to keep in captivity if they can be obtained 'freshly caught'. Here are some comments from a thread on Farcebook.





I have had a single animal more than 25 years ago myself, and I have seen a few offered over the years, but they always either died before they were exported, or they were scams. 7k each would be a bargain, they are worth many times that. The fact that Malaysia was the only country they were known from until very recently (Serwak/Malaysian Borneo) and as far as I know Malaysia would not allow their export, the fact that even though they are not CITES listed would have made imports into the USA illegal to begin with. It makes sense that a species that is ultra rare, but never traded is non CITES listed, as CITES is about regulating trade. BTW, these are not my pictures but my friend Shirawa sent me these and allowed me to use them on Facebook. He has more (other) photos on his site.

Yes, these were offered without paperwork, but I was told paperwork could be obtained but would take an extra month and he was afraid the animals would die during that time and why wait when Japan would buy them without paperwork as soon as he offered them. This was not a scam and an exporter I worked with in the past, he even sent a couple pics to tease me. It was never meant to be, and maybe for the best when they likely would have died anyways.

They are not difficult to keep at all. The very few I have seen for sale that were for real were very skinny and dehydrated, and the last one I was offered that was not a scam was in the 1980's.


----------



## varanus87 (Jan 30, 2012)

ophidianman said:


> I agree with you Sir but allegedly they aren't too difficult to keep in captivity if they can be obtained 'freshly caught'. Here are some comments from a thread on Farcebook.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wot a beautiful animal .... :lol2:

Fair enough if their captive care is not too hard ... Did u say you or your friend has had an individual for over 25 years ??:gasp:


----------



## TommyR (May 15, 2012)

ophidianman said:


> I agree with you Sir but allegedly they aren't too difficult to keep in captivity if they can be obtained 'freshly caught'. Here are some comments from a thread on Farcebook.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I always thought that all monitors had brown eyes, their seem to be blue?

Very nice animal though.


----------



## ophidianman (Sep 5, 2008)

varanus87 said:


> Wot a beautiful animal .... :lol2:
> 
> Fair enough if their captive care is not too hard ... Did u say you or your friend has had an individual for over 25 years ??:gasp:


I've personally never seen one let alone kept any . Olaf Pronk in Madagascar is the chap that had the lone specimen. If you're on Farce book have a look at his page, it's very interesting. He's been in the hobby / trade for a long time.

This head shot really reminds me of Godzilla. I wonder if the inspiration for the original Godzilla came from one of these??


----------



## varanus87 (Jan 30, 2012)

ophidianman said:


> I've personally never seen one let alone kept any . Olaf Pronk in Madagascar is the chap that had the lone specimen. If you're on Farce book have a look at his page, it's very interesting. He's been in the hobby / trade for a long time.
> 
> This head shot really reminds me of Godzilla. I wonder if the inspiration for the original Godzilla came from one of these??


Stunning creatures ... Godzilla is a spit of one of these beasts u hit the nail on the head I bet it had something to do with Godzilla ...


----------



## ophidianman (Sep 5, 2008)

Lanthonotus borneensis, the earless monitor lizard will exhibit at iZoo in Kawazu Japan 25/APR/2013. This must be one of the most rare reptiles in the world, and very few have ever been seen.
We succeeded picture of the world first Lanthanotus borneensis in the hi-vision picture. It is the large scoop picture that Lanthanotus borneensis eats was recorded. This lizard eat only Earthworms.
Please visit iZoo to see and official web page here: 日本初！体感型動物園iZoo【イズー】 ｜ トップページ


----------



## quince (Mar 2, 2009)

*For sale*

Interesting advert in the UK

Borneo earless monitors Lanthanotus borneoensis For Sale Leeds on Reptile Classifieds


----------



## alex_rendle (Feb 28, 2011)

they look so cool i would happily trade my girl friend for a pair of them


----------



## murrindindi2 (Oct 20, 2014)

*Girlfriend*

Hi, do you have a recent photo of your gf????




















Just kidding... :whistling2:


----------



## Tiliqua (Dec 6, 2008)

Saw some of these in the flesh recently, they are very cool...


----------

