Varan can fly

"The reptile has a prominent line of translucent, bony spikes that run in a straight line from the crest of its head to the end of its long tail.

  "There also seems to be a thin webbing, or membrane of some kind, that runs along its torso, connecting the front and back legs. The creature has a leathery layer of flexible armor plating that covers its back. This plating is covered with round bubbles or knobby bumps..."

...

Just then, the monster emitted another piercing, high-pitched squeal. Robin covered her ears.

While the cameraman filmed, the rest of the team watched as the monster reared up on its long hind legs.

"It's swelling up like a blowfish!" Robin exclaimed into her dead microphone. "The creature seems to be inflating..."

As they watched in awe, the bubbles on the armor plating dotting the monster's back and sides began to expand. The entire creature seemed to swell up. Finally, it leaped into the air like some nightmarish giant toad.

As it left the ground, the creature flew right over the cowering news team. In its wake, a tremendous wind swirled around them, kicking up sand and almost knocking them down.

The wind lasted for only a few seconds, then subsided. Suddenly, the air all around them smelled very sweet. Robin sniffed the air, then she looked at the director. He was smelling the air, too.

"Look up there!" the cameraman cried, without taking his eye from the eyepiece. The pilot, who was busy administering fist aid to the unconscious satellite technician, ignored the cameraman. But Robin and her director both looked into the sky. Far away now, they could see the silhouette of the monster as it disappeared into the low clouds over the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The monster's arms and legs were spread wide, and the membranes that ran along the beast's torso were stretched to the limit, so that they seemed translucent.

"He looks like Rocky the Flying Squirrel," the director quipped.

Robin nodded. Then she turned and looked behind her at the smoldering ruins of the hotel.

"But this flying squirrel is a lot more dangerous than Rocky," she whispered.


Godzilla 2000, Chapter 6