Which statement about the largest lizard's feeding capacity is true?

Which statement about the largest lizard's feeding capacity is true?

• A. The largest lizard can eat up to 500% of its body weight in one feeding.
• B. The largest lizard can eat 800% of its body weight in one feeding.
• C. The largest lizard never exceeds 100% of its body weight in a single feeding.
• D. It can only eat plant matter.

Answer: (B)

The amount a predator can take in at once depends on how far the digestive system can stretch and how the body stores a large, energy-rich meal for later digestion. The largest lizard is able to gorge far beyond its own body mass in a single feeding, because its mouth, esophagus, and stomach can accommodate a meal much larger than itself and it digests that meal over an extended period. In one sitting, it can ingest about eight times its body weight. This reflects the extreme capacity to swallow and store a huge prey item when the opportunity arises, which is why that statement is true. The other options clash with this idea: lizards of this size are carnivorous and can surpass body weight in one meal, so claiming they never exceed 100% or that they eat only plant matter contradicts observed biology; and 500% is smaller than the eightfold capacity described.

The amount a predator can take in at once depends on how far the digestive system can stretch and how the body stores a large, energy-rich meal for later digestion. The largest lizard is able to gorge far beyond its own body mass in a single feeding, because its mouth, esophagus, and stomach can accommodate a meal much larger than itself and it digests that meal over an extended period. In one sitting, it can ingest about eight times its body weight. This reflects the extreme capacity to swallow and store a huge prey item when the opportunity arises, which is why that statement is true. The other options clash with this idea: lizards of this size are carnivorous and can surpass body weight in one meal, so claiming they never exceed 100% or that they eat only plant matter contradicts observed biology; and 500% is smaller than the eightfold capacity described.