#Komodo Dragons

[rjzimmerman]

World’s biggest lizards use iron-coated teeth to tear up prey. (The Hill)

Excerpt from this story from The Hill:

The teeth of Komodo dragons, the world’s largest lizards, are coated in a protective layer of iron, a new study has found.

When the nearly-200 pound dragons go after their prey — which can include animals as large as deer or water buffalo — they rip into the unlucky animals�� flesh with serrated teeth, which they use to tear off chunks of skin and muscle that they swallow whole.

The serrated edges and tips of those teeth are wrapped in iron-based enamel, according to findings published on Wednesday in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Komodos aren’t the only animals to have iron in their teeth. Crocodiles do as well, and so — in trace amounts — do humans.

But the iron in Komodos’ teeth serves an essential purpose of keeping their teeth sharp and continually ready — and there is so much of it that the teeth in a dragon’s mouth are often orange, scientists found.

The researchers described their findings as a means of getting at a more difficult question: whether predatory dinosaurs like tyrannosaurus — which also are thought to have killed prey by ripping it apart with their teeth — also had iron-based teeth.

That’s currently impossible to determine, coauthor Aaron LeBlanc of Kings College London said in a statement.

“We think that the chemical changes which take place during the fossilization process obscure how much iron was present to start with,” he said.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

Sorry if this has been answered before but yknow, tumblr search be bad. So, I've heard like conflicting information about Komodo Dragons being venomous. Sometimes I've heard they ARE venomous and have venom glands and then sometimes I hear they don't have venom glands but have harmful bacteria in their mouth. And I've heard there's only 2 venomous lizards, and those are the gila monster and Mexican beaded. So I guess, the question is are komodo dragons venomous and if so, how? 🦎

You've been getting a lot of conflicting answers because there are conflicting opinions and a lot of popular but outdated info out there! The short answer is that Komodo dragons do indeed have venom, but herpetologists disagree on what exactly can be considered "venomous." Many of my colleagues, perfectly reasonable people, have been driven to extreme emotions by this discussion because many of us do feel that the traditional definition of venom (which required a reptile to have venom glands, venom ducts in the facts, and to use their venom for killing/digesting prey) needs to be updated.

Komodo dragons having unusually harmful saliva is outdated - studies within the most recent decade have found that the bacteria in their mouths is very ordinary. They have venom glands in their lower jaws and venom ducts between their teeth, so biting and chewing prey will inject venom into the prey's bloodstream. Their venom's main purpose seems to be preventing blood from clotting, so bites will lead to massive blood loss. The fun thing here is that Komodo dragon bites are serious enough without venom (the question is honestly irrelevant because in most cases if you're bitten by one you're dead, venom or no), but veranids (monitors) are quite primitive in the lizard family tree, so the existence of venom in Komodo dragons (and likely other monitors!) lets us know that venom probably goes much further back in the reptile family tree than we once thought.

[violent138]

Number 8 from the ask game, what could you give a 40 minute presentation on with no preparation?

Hello anon. So there are so many answers to this, but I think the one I'm going to have to go with is Komodo dragons. They're not even my favourite animal anymore but back when I was a wee youngling in grade 11 I did a metric ton of research into their food web, breeding cycles, mommy and me cloning, and their fighting stats. I could enthrall you with my deductions and decisions on what's likely on the food web (back then there were quite a few blanks).

Thanks for playing!

[antiqueanimals]

Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Reptiles and Amphibians of the World. Written by Hans Hvass. Illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener. Originally published in 1958.

Internet Archive

[beebsops]

Can we see more lizard gifs?

No...but actually yes. Here's a gif of two Komodo dragons hugging after being apart for a long long time (10 minutes)

They are in love and they bite transphobes (Haters will say they're wrestling to assert dominance but that's just the hater perspective)

photographed by Chris Bray Photography

[avillanappears]

excellent news everyone! komodo dragon with a bucket on its head

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[baby-bigfoot]

Komodo Dragon Pattern, available on a variety of products.

To order, click on the image.

[is-the-snake-video-cute]

I'm sad that komodo dragons are so dangerous... I wish I could pet them but I know it's not safe to do that

It's genuinely heartbreaking. The one time I really got to work with a Komodo dragon (the amazing Murphy at the Smithsonian National Zoo), I was just constantly consumed with thoughts about how much I wanted to take a nap next to him with his big silly head in my lap.

[aquatic-batt]

aminals :3c

[antiqueanimals]

Komodo dragons. Last Chance on Earth; a Requiem for Wildlife. Roger A. Caras. Illustrated by Charles Fracé. 1966.

Internet Archive

[unbfacts]