Fossils discovered of giant lizards in Switzerland

A Nile monitor lizard, which can grow to up to two metres, searches for food in the Gambia Keystone / Nic Bothma

Monitor lizards also lived in Switzerland 17 million years ago, according to researchers in Basel who discovered fossils of the giant lizard by chance. This is the first evidence of monitor lizards in Switzerland.

The fossils come from the Hüenerbach, a river in Emmental in canton Bern, central Switzerland, the Natural History Museum Basel said in a statementExternal link on Monday. Among hundreds of fossil bones and teeth in the museum’s palaeontological vertebrate collection, palaeontologist Bastien Mennecart noticed two incomplete teeth.

In collaboration with an international team of researchers from Poland, Germany and Switzerland, he showed that the distinctive serrations on the teeth and their interior correspond to typical features of monitor lizards. The findings were published in scientific journal Swiss Journal of GeosciencesExternal link.

With an age of 17 million years, the fossil teeth are among the oldest evidence of the known giant lizard Varanus from Europe, the museum said.

At that time, the climate in Switzerland was 5°C to 10°C warmer than it is today. Even though there is already a record of fossils for that period, no proof had ever surfaced of monitor lizards being native to Switzerland at that time – until now. The fossilised teeth form some of the oldest evidence of the giant lizard Varanus from Europe. The last known monitor lizards in Europe lived in Greece until around one million years ago.

‘Treasure trove’

Today, about 85 different species of monitor lizards are recognised. They are widespread and can be found in different habitats in Africa, Asia and Australia. With a body length of up to three metres, they are among the largest land lizards in the world.

Mennecart is fully aware of the importance of the palaeontology collection of fossil vertebrates at the Natural History Museum Basel. It is one of the largest collections of its kind in Europe and is well-known in scientific circles worldwide.

“The palaeontology collection is a treasure trove,” he said. “We’re working hard to properly prepare the collections for our move to the new museum. Who knows what other surprises we’ll find.”