Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i know this is not exactly what this forum is for, but i am writing a paper about varanid methods of hunting. the exact questions i hope to answer are:
are varanids evolvin a method of hunting more symilar to solitary mammalian predators like cats in ares where there are no large warm blooded predators to fill the niche?
how do varanids hunt differently from other lizards?
if you guys can point me in the right direction as to scientific journals, studies, authors, or w/e (i can only use primary sources from scientific journals, ie studies themselves not anyone's opinion) i would really appreciate it.
also, i know at least one of you asked me for pictures of my setup... my hard drive was recently wiped out, so as soon as i have time to take some pictures i will be sure to post them!
-jake
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"I live for the nights I'll never remember with the friends I will never forget"

A few post down (Austrailan Goanna's Book) there is some dialouge where FR mentions some books...I'd check the bib/ref in back to get started(especially old books where its difficult to find study on internet). dont know how in depth you'll be able to get on that specific topic. some profs are real jerks about "technical" references...if this topic has limited studies you may be able to twist her/his arm a little and get some latitude. if not a good method is a siege tactic...simply catch the prof right at the end of "must be in office time"...and start talking,talking, talking...no compliance?...let'em know you'll be back again for more office time hahahaha...good luck,zak.

thanks, but it's due on the 6th and i don't know if i have time to be that thorough, especially when i can search scientific databases. i'm not really having that much trouble, but there are not as many papers on varanids as other herps, but hey, if i'm writing a paper this in depth, why not take advantage and focus on a topic that intrests me right? thanks anyways... but i'll just continue searching databases and library stocks.
-ake
p.s. i migt get some of those books frank was talking about anyways, they seem great (and his post on the mexican gecko species helped me out in aother paper, thats not an opinion you hear often in the scientific community... we want to know it all!!!)
p.p.s. sorry if this is illegible at parts, im out in the sun and its hard to see the screen
>>A few post down (Austrailan Goanna's Book) there is some dialouge where FR mentions some books...I'd check the bib/ref in back to get started(especially old books where its difficult to find study on internet). dont know how in depth you'll be able to get on that specific topic. some profs are real jerks about "technical" references...if this topic has limited studies you may be able to twist her/his arm a little and get some latitude. if not a good method is a siege tactic...simply catch the prof right at the end of "must be in office time"...and start talking,talking, talking...no compliance?...let'em know you'll be back again for more office time hahahaha...good luck,zak.
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"I live for the nights I'll never remember with the friends I will never forget"

Try articules and books by "King & Green" They have lots of that type of stuff. Cheers

>>Try articules and books by "King & Green" They have lots of that type of stuff. Cheers
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"I live for the nights I'll never remember with the friends I will never forget"

Interesting topic…may I suggest you initially focus your efforts on Varanus komodoensis. It is a classic example of biological isolation and size resulting in their emergence as the apex predator for their ecosystem. It is also very interesting that they have apparently evolved extremely toxic saliva teeming with deadly bacteria that will immobilize their prey within days after a bite. With no other large predators around to scavenge from they were forced to evolve the means to bring down large prey, or at least that’s the theory. It could have nothing to do with evolving a means to take down large prey, it could be a by-product of other biological pressures.

From there branch out to other species, Varanus giganteus might be great. They may be apex in some of their ranges? Also see what you can find on salvator and albigularis, they interact with some large cats and other large mammalian and reptilian predators. Hey niloticus would be great to observe the convergence of several large predators, including crocs, and understand the niche they find themselves.

Maybe a blurb about tegus as well??

Compare and contrast these different species, it could be a very nice paper indeed. I know I have not provided any sources for this information, but I am sure with some simple google searches you will find much if not all of what you need. Don't overthink it would be my advise, you aren't trying to get your phd or get published with this hahah...just gather data, interpret it, organize it and write it.

Good luck,

Tom

that australian goanna book mentioned something about V.tristis being communal...maybe even hunting together??...sounds like a stretch but, the more you hang out here(forum) more stuff comes "out of the box"...if its true the reference would be easy enough to find. happy researching,zak.

thanks, but this is the kind of info that is completely useless in a paper like this, so is anything from google... usable search engines are ones like BIOONE and JSTOR... i can only use data collected through studies directly not from books or websites. thanks anyways, i appreciate your efforts to help me out... truth be told i was hoping FR would have some good sources for me. but yeah, i definitely had Varanus komodiensis in mind when i chose the topic, but i know overall varanids are great hunters... in my opinion they represent the best of the lizard world since from them evolved so many amazing species like plesiosaurs, mososaurs, and snakes... which goes along with my personal theory that new species evolve from apex predatoirs because they always need to outsmart their prey (unlike lizards that sit and wait for the unlucky passerby for example)
thanks again, sorry about my rant,
-jake

>>Interesting topic…may I suggest you initially focus your efforts on Varanus komodoensis. It is a classic example of biological isolation and size resulting in their emergence as the apex predator for their ecosystem. It is also very interesting that they have apparently evolved extremely toxic saliva teeming with deadly bacteria that will immobilize their prey within days after a bite. With no other large predators around to scavenge from they were forced to evolve the means to bring down large prey, or at least that’s the theory. It could have nothing to do with evolving a means to take down large prey, it could be a by-product of other biological pressures.
>>
>>From there branch out to other species, Varanus giganteus might be great. They may be apex in some of their ranges? Also see what you can find on salvator and albigularis, they interact with some large cats and other large mammalian and reptilian predators. Hey niloticus would be great to observe the convergence of several large predators, including crocs, and understand the niche they find themselves.
>>
>>Maybe a blurb about tegus as well??
>>
>>Compare and contrast these different species, it could be a very nice paper indeed. I know I have not provided any sources for this information, but I am sure with some simple google searches you will find much if not all of what you need. Don't overthink it would be my advise, you aren't trying to get your phd or get published with this hahah...just gather data, interpret it, organize it and write it.
>>
>>
>>Good luck,
>>
>>Tom
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"I live for the nights I'll never remember with the friends I will never forget"