Komodo dragon collision between Australia and Southeast Asia allowed these larger varanids to move back into what is now the Indonesian archipelago, extending their range as far east as the island of Timor. The Komodo dragon was believed to have differentiated from its Australian ancestors 4 million years ago. However, recent fossil evidence from Queensland suggests the Komodo dragon actually evolved in Australia before spreading to Indonesia. Dramatic lowering of sea level during the last glacial period uncovered extensive stretches of continental shelf that the Komodo dragon colonised, becoming isolated in their present island range as sea levels rose afterwards. Extinct Pliocene
Lilford's wall lizard Lilford's wall lizard Lilford's wall lizard ("Podarcis lilfordi" ) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. The species is endemic to the Balearic Islands, Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, and rocky shores. Originally distributed throughout the Balearics, the introduction of alien species which started with the Romans has confined the species to the uninhabited islets around the major islands, on almost each of which a local subspecies has evolved. It is threatened by habitat loss. "P. lilfordi" is named in honour of Thomas Powys, 4th Baron Lilford, a British ornithologist who studied