Is Smaug giganteus named after Smaug?

Is Smaug giganteus named after Smaug?

The sungazer (Smaug giganteus, syn. Cordylus giganteus), also known as the giant girdled lizard, giant dragon lizard, or giant zonure, is the largest species of the Cordylidae, a family of lizards from sub-Saharan Africa….Giant girdled lizard.

What is Ouvolk?

Sungazer, girdled lizard, giant zonure (Eng.); ouvolk (Afr.) – ouvolk is also used for other girdled lizard species in Afrikaans. Sungazers are the largest lizards in the girdled lizard group, which belong to the family Cordylidae, containing more than 50 species (Frost et al. 2001).

How much is a giant girdled lizard?

~$1,000
Armadillo Lizard Facts

Is smaug a lizard?

The villain of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit–the fearsome dragon Smaug–dwells deep in a cavern with a massive hoard of treasure and terrorizes nearby villages. Smaug gigantus is a newly-reclassified giant girdled lizard from South Africa. His real-world namesakes aren’t quite as fearsome.

What does the name Smaug mean?

According to Tolkien, (who was born in the Free State where these animals occur) the name Smaug is “the past tense of the primitive Germanic verb smeugan, meaning “to squeeze through a hole”, making it a doubly appropriate name for dragon-like lizards that live in burrows or rock cracks.

How do you pronounce Smaug the dragon?

So, the word Smaug should be pronounced Sm-ow-g, not Sm-o-g. If it helps, think of adding a “w” (Smauwg) or think of the au in Smaug as sounding like the au in Sauron.

Can you have a Sungazer as a pet?

NOTE: Sungazer lizards do not make good pets, and it is illegal to keep them in captivity.

Are Flying Lizards real?

Draco is a genus of agamid lizards that are also known as flying lizards, flying dragons or gliding lizards. These lizards are capable of gliding flight via membranes that may be extended to create wings (patagia), formed by an enlarged set of ribs. They are arboreal insectivores.

How fast can Smaug fly?

200kph
A few more scribbles and comparisons with real flying creatures and out pops the air-speed required by Smaug to fly – 200kph.

How did Tolkien say Smaug?

There Tolkien provides a different pronunciation of au for his languages. * According to him, au should be pronounced “ow” as in loud or how. So, the word Smaug should be pronounced Sm-ow-g, not Sm-o-g. If it helps, think of adding a “w” (Smauwg) or think of the au in Smaug as sounding like the au in Sauron.

Is Smaug pronounced as smog?

Admit it: you were pronouncing the word “Smaug” — the name of the Hobbit dragon, the one who’s in the subtitle of the upcoming movie installation — as “smog.” Observant watchers of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug — or just its trailers, as seen here, since the movie’s not actually out till Dec.

What’s the closest thing to a dragon?

Described as ‘the closest thing to a real life dragon,’ scientists have discovered a new ‘fearsome beast’ from the time of the dinosaurs! The creature’s fossil was found in Australia and is thought to be a new species of pterosaur, a group of winged reptiles that were the largest flying animals that have ever existed.

Does Smaug have to eat?

From what I understand, Smaug is a beast that must eat other living things to sustain himself. For example, he does not “eat” gold and jewels, he simply admires and covets them. It’s implied that he ate a good deal of dwarves, men, ponies, etc., during his attack on Erebor.