Can a lizardfolk monk use their bonus action to make an unarmed strike using their Bite trait?

Question

I'm gonna be playing my very first D&D game pretty soon and I'm really excited. I'm playing a Lizardfolk monk, and I just finished my character sheet, but I was confused about something.

We're starting out at level 2. At level 2, the monk gets the Martial Arts feature, which lets them use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike. However, the Lizardfolk has a bite attack that can be used to make an unarmed strike that does 1d6 + Strength mod piercing damage.

Am I allowed to use my Bite as my lizardfolk monk's bonus-action unarmed strike? Or is that not allowed, since that's some different ability or something?

Answer 1

You can use your Bite with Martial Arts

This is how an unarmed strike is described:

Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack, you can use an un­armed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or similar forceful blow (PHB 195, errata v1.0)

It is clear that not only your hands can be used to make one, but any part of your body. The Bite feature of lizardfolk expands on this and gives specific rules for using one specific body part:

Your fanged maw is a natural weapon, which you can use to make unarmed strikes. (VGtM 113)

From a mechanical standpoint, your bite is as much an unarmed strike as a headbutt. The monk feature Martial Arts also does not pose any further restrictions on what kind of unarmed strike can be made:

When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action. (PHB 78)

Thus you can use your Bite with the bonus action granted by Martial Arts.