Komodo Dragon | Facts, Habitat, Bite, & Venom

This informative text tells the story of the Komodo dragon from the discovery of the beasts by Chinese sailors thousands of years ago to the most recent research on the antibiotic potential of substances found in the blood stream of the Komodo dragon. The book is written in a quasi-chronological fashion where stories of the research conductedAs the title suggests, Komodo Dragons are the largest living lizards in the world (not including dinosaurs of course). On average these lizards weigh around 154 pound, but the largest verified specimen weighed in at 366 pounds and 10.3 feet long. Unsurprisingly these are some seriously strong lizards.The biggest Komodo dragon ever recorded was 10.167 feet (3.13 meters). It had the weight of 365 pounds (165.9 kilograms). If this is not big for a lizard, then I don't know what is. This Komodo dragon is the biggest lizard in the world.King of the lizards: There are over 3,000 lizard species, but the Komodo dragon wins the prize for being the largest living lizard in the world! It is a type of monitor lizard, an ancient group of reptiles with ancestors that date back more than 100 million years. Komodo dragons were unknown by western scientists until 1912, and their common name came from rumors of a large dragon-like lizard1. Komodo Dragon . The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard; it can grow to about 10 feet and weigh as much as 150 pounds. It is native to the Indonesian Lesser Sunda Islands of Komodo, Flores, Padar, Rinca, and Gili Motang. The Komodo dragon has a long flat head with a rounded snout, huge muscular tail, bowed legs, and scaly skin.

Top 10 Komodo Dragon Facts - The Largest Lizard In The World

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard in the world. It is found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores and Gili Motang. It can grow up to 3 metres long (10 feet) and weighs around 70 kilograms (155 lb).Apart from being Earth's largest living lizard, behavior like man-eating and grave-robbing are the Komodo dragon's biggest claims to fame. But did you know that these guys are also surprisingly...The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard living on Earth today, growing up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weighing 150 pounds (68 kilograms) or more. Yet while this enormous reptile may not fly or...The Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the largest lizard species in the world. This species can grow up to 10 feet in length and weigh over 300 pounds, which not only makes it the largest lizard, but also the heaviest!

What is the Biggest Komodo Dragon in the World? - All That

The average size of a male Komodo dragon is 8 to 9 feet and about 200 lbs., according to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park, but they can reach a whopping 10 feet (3 meters) in lengthKomodo dragon's are the world's largest lizards. The Zoo's 22-year-old Komodo dragon, Murphy, typically weighs 146-152 pounds. (Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute)The Komodo dragon is the biggest extant monitor lizard, with some growing as long as 3 meters long and weighting around 70 kilograms. It used to come second to its cousins, the giant lizards under the Megalania genus that went extinct as late as 50,000 years ago.Reaching up to 10 feet in length and more than 300 pounds, Komodo dragons are the heaviest lizards on Earth. They have long, flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly skin, bowed legs, and huge,...In 2007, a dragon killed an 8-year-old boy on Komodo Island, marking the first fatal attack on a human in 33 years, the Guardian reported. The attack took place in March's dry season, so rangers

Jump to navigation Jump to look For the similarly-named web browser, see Comodo Dragon.

Komodo dragonTemporal vary: Pliocene–Holocene,[1]3.8–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Male at the Cincinnati Zoo Conservation standing Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)[2] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Family: Varanidae Genus: Varanus Subgenus: Varanus Species: V. komodoensis Binomial title Varanus komodoensisOuwens, 1912[3] Komodo dragon distribution

The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo observe, is a member of the monitor lizard circle of relatives Varanidae this is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the most important extant species of lizard, rising to a most period of three metres (10 feet), and weighing as much as roughly 70 kilograms (150 lb).

As a end result in their size, Komodo dragons are apex predators, and dominate the ecosystems in which they live. Komodo dragons hunt and ambush prey together with invertebrates, birds, and mammals. It has been claimed that they have got a venomous chunk; there are two glands in the lower jaw which secrete a number of poisonous proteins. The organic significance of those proteins is disputed, however the glands were proven to secrete an anticoagulant. Komodo dragons' group conduct in searching is phenomenal within the reptile international. The nutrition of Komodo dragons principally is composed of Javan rusa (Rusa timorensis), even though they also eat considerable amounts of carrion. Komodo dragons also on occasion attack people.

Mating begins between May and August, and the eggs are laid in September; as many as 20 eggs are deposited at a time in an abandoned megapode nest or in a self-dug nesting hollow. The eggs are incubated for seven to eight months, hatching in April, when insects are maximum abundant. Young Komodo dragons are susceptible and reside in trees to steer clear of predators, equivalent to cannibalistic adults. They take 8 to Nine years to mature and are estimated to live as much as 30 years.

Komodo dragons had been first recorded via Western scientists in 1910. Their massive size and fearsome popularity cause them to common zoo reveals. In the wild, their range has contracted due to human activities, and they are indexed as Vulnerable by means of the IUCN Red List. They are secure below Indonesian legislation, and Komodo National Park used to be founded in 1980 to help coverage efforts.

Taxonomic historical past

Skull

Komodo dragons were first documented through Europeans in 1910, when rumors of a "land crocodile" reached Lieutenant van Steyn van Hensbroek of the Dutch colonial administration.[4] Widespread notoriety got here after 1912, when Peter Ouwens, the director of the Zoological Museum at Bogor, Java, published a paper on the matter after receiving a photo and a skin from the lieutenant, in addition to two different specimens from a collector.[3]

The first two reside Komodo dragons to reach in Europe had been exhibited in the Reptile House at London Zoo when it opened in 1927.[5]Joan Beauchamp Procter made one of the vital earliest observations of these animals in captivity and he or she demonstrated their behaviour at a Scientific Meeting of the Zoological Society of London in 1928.[6]

The Komodo dragon used to be the riding factor for an expedition to Komodo Island by means of W. Douglas Burden in 1926. After returning with 12 preserved specimens and two live ones, this expedition equipped the muse for the 1933 film King Kong.[7] It used to be also Burden who coined the common identify "Komodo dragon."[8] Three of his specimens have been stuffed and are still on show in the American Museum of Natural History.[9]

The Dutch island administration, understanding the restricted number of folks within the wild, soon outlawed recreation looking and heavily restricted the collection of individuals taken for medical find out about. Collecting expeditions flooring to a halt with the prevalence of World War II, no longer resuming until the 1950s and 1960s, when research tested the Komodo dragon's feeding conduct, copy, and frame temperature. At around this time, an expedition was deliberate through which a long-term study of the Komodo dragon can be undertaken. This activity used to be given to the Auffenberg family, who stayed on Komodo Island for 11 months in 1969. During their stay, Walter Auffenberg and his assistant Putra Sastrawan captured and tagged greater than 50 Komodo dragons.[10]

Research from the Auffenberg expedition proved to be significantly influential in elevating Komodo dragons in captivity.[11] Research after that of the Auffenberg circle of relatives has shed extra gentle at the nature of the Komodo dragon, with biologists such as Claudio Ciofi continuing to study the creatures.[12]

Etymology The Komodo dragon, as depicted on the 50 rupiah coin, issued by means of Indonesia

The Komodo dragon may be every now and then known as the Komodo observe or the Komodo Island monitor in medical literature,[13] even if this title is unusual. To the natives of Komodo Island, it's known as ora, buaya darat ('land crocodile'), or biawak raksasa ('giant observe').[14][4]

Evolutionary history

The evolutionary building of the Komodo dragon began with the genus Varanus, which originated in Asia about 40 million years in the past and migrated to Australia, the place it evolved into giant bureaucracy (the biggest of all being the just lately extinct Megalania), helped by way of the absence of competing placental carnivorans. Around 15 million years ago, a collision between the continental landmasses of Australia and Southeast Asia allowed these greater varanids to move back into what is now the Indonesian archipelago, extending their vary as a ways east as the island of Timor.

The Komodo dragon is assumed to have differentiated from its Australian ancestors about 4 million years ago. However, recent fossil proof from Queensland suggests the Komodo dragon in fact advanced in Australia, prior to spreading to Indonesia.[1][15]

Dramatic lowering of sea degree all the way through the remaining glacial length exposed intensive stretches of continental shelf that the Komodo dragon colonised, changing into remoted in their present island vary as sea levels rose afterwards.[1][4] Fossils of extinct Pliocene species of equivalent length to the trendy Komodo dragon, comparable to Varanus sivalensis, were found in Eurasia as smartly, indicating that they fared neatly even in environments containing pageant, corresponding to mammalian carnivores, until the climate exchange and extinction occasions that marked the beginning of the Pleistocene.[16]

Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA presentations the Komodo dragon to be the nearest relative (sister taxon) of the lace track (V. varius), with their not unusual ancestor diverging from a lineage that gave rise to the crocodile observe (Varanus salvadorii) of New Guinea.[17][18][19]

A 2021 study had proven that during the Miocene, Komodo dragons had hybridized with the ancestors of the Australian sand observe (V. gouldii), thus providing further evidence that the Komodo dragon had as soon as inhabited Australia.[20][21][22]

Description

Specimen in profile

In the wild, adult Komodo dragons in most cases weigh round 70 kg (150 lb), although captive specimens incessantly weigh extra.[23] According to Guinness World Records, an average grownup male will weigh 79 to 91 kg (174 to 201 lb) and measure 2.59 m (8.5 toes), whilst a mean feminine will weigh 68 to 73 kg (A hundred and fifty to 161 lb) and measure 2.29 m (7.5 ft).[24] The greatest verified wild specimen was once 3.13 m (10.3 toes) lengthy and weighed 166 kg (366 lb), together with its undigested meals.[4]

Closeup of the surface

The Komodo dragon has a tail so long as its body, as well as about 60 incessantly changed, serrated teeth that can measure as much as 2.5 cm (1 in) in period. Its saliva is incessantly blood-tinged as a result of its enamel are virtually completely coated by gingival tissue that is naturally lacerated all through feeding.[25] Like all monitors, it also has an extended, yellow, deeply forked tongue.[4] Komodo dragon skin is bolstered by way of armoured scales, which comprise tiny bones called osteoderms that serve as as a sort of herbal chain-mail.[26][27] The most effective areas missing osteoderms on the head of the grownup Komodo dragon are around the eyes, nostrils, mouth margins, and pineal eye, a light-sensing organ on the most sensible of the top. Where lizards typically have one or two varying patterns or shapes of osteoderms, komodo's have four: rosette, platy, dendritic, and vermiform.[28] This rugged conceal makes Komodo dragon pores and skin a deficient source of leather. Additionally, these osteoderms change into more in depth and variable in form as the Komodo dragon ages, ossifying more extensively because the lizard grows. These osteoderms are absent in hatchlings and juveniles, indicating that the herbal armor develops as a product of age and competition between adults for cover in intraspecific fight over meals and mates.[29]

Senses ">Play media Komodo dragon the usage of its tongue to sample the air

As with different varanids, Komodo dragons have just a unmarried ear bone, the stapes, for moving vibrations from the tympanic membrane to the cochlea. This association way they are most likely restricted to sounds in the Four hundred to two,000 hertz range, compared to humans who pay attention between 20 and 20,000 hertz.[4][30] They have been previously thought to be deaf when a find out about reported no agitation in wild Komodo dragons based on whispers, raised voices, or shouts. This used to be disputed when London Zoological Garden worker Joan Procter educated a captive specimen to return out to feed at the sound of her voice, even when she may no longer be noticed.[31]

The Komodo dragon can see objects as a long way away as 300 m (980 toes), but as a result of its retinas best include cones, it's idea to have poor evening imaginative and prescient. It can distinguish colors, but has poor visual discrimination of desk bound objects.[32]

As with many different reptiles, the Komodo dragon primarily depends on its tongue to come across, style, and scent stimuli, with the vomeronasal sense the use of the Jacobson's organ, slightly than the usage of the nostrils.[33] With the assistance of a positive wind and its dependancy of swinging its head backward and forward because it walks, a Komodo dragon might be able to stumble on carrion from 4–9.5 km (2.5–5.9 mi) away.[32] It best has a couple of taste buds at the back of its throat.[33] Its scales, some of which are reinforced with bone, have sensory plaques attached to nerves to facilitate its sense of contact. The scales around the ears, lips, chin, and soles of the feet may have three or extra sensory plaques.[25]

Behaviour and ecology

Male komodo dragons fighting

The Komodo dragon prefers scorching and dry puts and normally lives in dry, open grassland, savanna, and tropical wooded area at low elevations. As an ectotherm, it is most lively in the day, even though it exhibits some nocturnal job. Komodo dragons are solitary, coming in combination only to breed and eat. They are able to running swiftly briefly sprints up to 20 km/h (12 mph), diving up to 4.5 m (15 feet), and mountain climbing trees proficiently when young thru use in their robust claws.[23] To catch out-of-reach prey, the Komodo dragon might stand on its hind legs and use its tail as a toughen.[31] As it matures, its claws are used essentially as guns, as its great size makes mountaineering impractical.[25]

For shelter, the Komodo dragon digs holes that can measure from 1 to a few m (3.3 to 9.8 ft) broad with its robust forelimbs and claws.[34] Because of its large size and dependancy of dozing in those burrows, it is able to conserve body heat all the way through the night and minimise its basking period the morning after.[35] The Komodo dragon hunts within the afternoon, however stays within the coloration during the hottest part of the day.[8] These particular resting places, in most cases located on ridges with cool sea breezes, are marked with droppings and are cleared of plants. They function strategic places from which to ambush deer.[36]

Diet Komodo dragon on Rinca feeding on a water buffalo corpse

As a end result of their size, Komodo dragons dominate the ecosystems wherein they are living.[37] They are carnivores, even supposing they have got been considered as eating mostly carrion,[38] they'll incessantly ambush are living prey with a stealthy manner. When suitable prey arrives close to a dragon's ambush site, it'll all of sudden price on the animal at top speeds and go for the underside or the throat.[25]

Komodo dragons don't intentionally allow the prey to escape with fatal accidents but attempt to kill prey outright using a mix of lacerating damage and blood loss. They had been recorded as killing wild pigs within seconds,[39] and observations of Komodo dragons tracking prey for lengthy distances are most probably misinterpreted cases of prey escaping an attack before succumbing to an infection.[40] Komodo dragons had been seen knocking down huge pigs and deer with their strong tails.[41][39] They are ready to find carcasses the usage of their willing sense of scent, which can find a dead or death animal from a variety of up to 9.5 km (5.9 mi).

Komodo dragons devour through tearing large chunks of flesh and swallowing them entire whilst protecting the carcass down with their forelegs. For smaller prey as much as the scale of a goat, their loosely articulated jaws, flexible skulls, and expandable stomachs allow them to swallow prey complete. The undigested vegetable contents of a prey animal's abdomen and intestines are generally avoided.[36] Copious quantities of purple saliva the Komodo dragons produce help to lubricate the meals, however swallowing continues to be a protracted process (15–20 minutes to swallow a goat). A Komodo dragon would possibly attempt to accelerate the process by ramming the carcass in opposition to a tree to pressure it down its throat, every now and then ramming so forcefully that the tree is knocked down.[36] A small tube beneath the tongue that connects to the lungs lets in it to respire while swallowing.[25]

After consuming up to 80% of its body weight in one meal,[37] it drags itself to a sunny location to hurry digestion, because the meals could rot and poison the dragon if left undigested in its stomach for too lengthy. Because in their slow metabolism, massive dragons can continue to exist on as few as 12 foods a yr.[25] After digestion, the Komodo dragon regurgitates a mass of horns, hair, and enamel known as the gastric pellet, which is covered in malodorous mucus. After regurgitating the gastric pellet, it rubs its face within the filth or on trees to eliminate the mucus, suggesting it does no longer relish the odor of its personal excretions.[25]

Komodo excrement has a depressing portion, which is stool, and a whitish portion, which is urate, the nitrogenous end-product of their digestion procedure

The eating conduct of Komodo dragons apply a hierarchy, with the bigger animals normally eating sooner than the smaller ones. The largest male in most cases asserts his dominance and the smaller males show their submission through use of frame language and rumbling hisses. Dragons of equivalent size may hotel to "wrestling." Losers normally retreat, although they have got been known to be killed and eaten by victors.[42][43]

The Komodo dragon's vitamin is wide-ranging, and contains invertebrates, other reptiles (together with smaller Komodo dragons), birds, hen eggs, small mammals, monkeys, wild boar, goats, deer, horses, and water buffalo.[44] Young Komodos will eat bugs, eggs, geckos, and small mammals, while adults favor to seek large mammals.[38] Occasionally, they attack and chew humans. Sometimes they eat human corpses, digging up bodies from shallow graves.[31] This dependancy of raiding graves brought about the villagers of Komodo to transport their graves from sandy to clay floor, and pile rocks on best of them, to deter the lizards.[36] The Komodo dragon can have evolved to feed on the extinct dwarf elephant Stegodon that once lived on Flores, in step with evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond.[45]

The Komodo dragon beverages by sucking water into its mouth via buccal pumping (a procedure also used for respiratory), lifting its head, and letting the water run down its throat.[39]

Saliva

Although previous research proposed that Komodo dragon saliva contains plenty of extremely septic micro organism that would lend a hand to bring down prey,[42][46] research in 2013 instructed that the bacteria within the mouths of Komodo dragons are bizarre and similar to those found in other carnivores. Komodo dragons have good mouth hygiene. To quote Bryan Fry: "After they are done feeding, they will spend 10 to 15 minutes lip-licking and rubbing their head in the leaves to clean their mouth ... Unlike people have been led to believe, they do not have chunks of rotting flesh from their meals on their teeth, cultivating bacteria." Nor do Komodo dragons look ahead to prey to die and observe it at a distance, as vipers do; observations of them looking deer, boar and in some instances buffalo expose that they kill prey in not up to half an hour.[40][47]

The commentary of prey dying of sepsis would then be defined by the herbal intuition of water buffalos, who don't seem to be native to the islands where the Komodo dragon lives, to run into water after escaping an assault. The heat, faeces-filled water would then motive the infections.[40] The find out about used samples from 16 captive dragons (10 adults and six neonates) from 3 US zoos.[48]

Antibacterial immune issue

Researchers have isolated a formidable antibacterial peptide from the blood plasma of Komodo dragons, VK25. Based on their analysis of this peptide, they have got synthesized a short peptide dubbed DRGN-1 and examined it in opposition to multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens. Preliminary result of those assessments show that DRGN-1 is valuable in killing drug-resistant bacterial lines and even some fungi. It has the added seen advantage of significantly promoting wound healing in both uninfected and combined biofilm infected wounds.[49]

Venom Komodo dragon stalking a Timor deer

In late 2005, researchers on the University of Melbourne speculated the perentie (Varanus giganteus), different species of displays, and agamids is also reasonably venomous. The staff believes the fast results of bites from these lizards were caused through delicate envenomation. Bites on human digits by means of a lace track (V. varius), a Komodo dragon, and a noticed tree observe (V. scalaris) all produced equivalent effects: speedy swelling, localised disruption of blood clotting, and taking pictures ache as much as the elbow, with some signs lasting for a number of hours.[50]

In 2009, the same researchers published additional evidence demonstrating Komodo dragons possess a venomous bite. MRI scans of a preserved cranium confirmed the presence of two glands in the lower jaw. The researchers extracted the sort of glands from the pinnacle of a terminally sick dragon in the Singapore Zoological Gardens, and found it secreted a number of different toxic proteins. The recognized purposes of these proteins include inhibition of blood clotting, reducing of blood drive, muscle paralysis, and the induction of hypothermia, resulting in shock and lack of awareness in envenomated prey.[51][52] As a results of the discovery, the previous idea that micro organism were responsible for the deaths of Komodo victims was once disputed.[53]

Other scientists have stated that this allegation of venom glands "has had the effect of underestimating the variety of complex roles played by oral secretions in the biology of reptiles, produced a very narrow view of oral secretions and resulted in misinterpretation of reptilian evolution." According to these scientists "reptilian oral secretions contribute to many biological roles other than to quickly dispatch prey." These researchers concluded that, "Calling all in this clade venomous implies an overall potential danger that does not exist, misleads in the assessment of medical risks, and confuses the biological assessment of squamate biochemical systems."[54] Evolutionary biologist Schwenk says that even supposing the lizards have venom-like proteins in their mouths they is also the use of them for a distinct function, and he doubts venom is essential to provide an explanation for the impact of a Komodo dragon chew, arguing that surprise and blood loss are the primary factors.[55][56]

Reproduction Komodo dragons mating

Mating happens between May and August, with the eggs laid in September.[4][57] During this era, men struggle over females and territory by means of grappling with one some other upon their hind legs, with the loser sooner or later being pinned to the ground. These males may vomit or defecate when getting ready for the combat.[31] The winner of the struggle will then flick his lengthy tongue on the female to achieve details about her receptivity.[37] Females are adverse and withstand with their claws and tooth all the way through the early stages of courtship. Therefore, the male should absolutely restrain the feminine all through coitus to steer clear of being harm. Other courtship shows come with men rubbing their chins at the female, onerous scratches to the again, and licking.[58] Copulation occurs when the male inserts certainly one of his hemipenes into the feminine's cloaca.[32] Komodo dragons is also monogamous and form "pair bonds," a rare conduct for lizards.[31]

Female Komodos lay their eggs from August to September and would possibly use various kinds of locality; in a single learn about, 60% laid their eggs in the nests of orange-footed scrubfowl (a moundbuilder or megapode), 20% on floor level and 20% in hilly spaces.[59] The females make many camouflage nests/holes to forestall other dragons from eating the eggs.[60] Clutches include an average of 20 eggs, that have an incubation length of seven–8 months.[31] Hatching is an exhausting effort for the neonates, which break out in their eggshells with an egg enamel that falls off ahead of lengthy. After reducing themselves out, the hatchlings may lie of their eggshells for hours ahead of starting to dig out of the nest. They are born moderately defenseless and are at risk of predation.[42] Sixteen kids from a single nest were on average 46.5 cm lengthy and weighed 105.1 grams.[59]

Young Komodo dragons spend a lot of their first few years in trees, the place they're moderately safe from predators, including cannibalistic adults, as juvenile dragons make up 10% of their diets.[31] The addiction of cannibalism is also superb in maintaining the huge length of adults, as medium-sized prey on the islands is uncommon.[41] When the younger approach a kill, they roll round in faecal subject and leisure within the intestines of eviscerated animals to discourage these hungry adults.[31] Komodo dragons take roughly 8 to Nine years to mature, and would possibly live for as much as 30 years.[57]

Parthenogenesis Main article: Parthenogenesis Parthenogenetic child Komodo dragon, Chester Zoo, England

A Komodo dragon at London Zoo named Sungai laid a take hold of of eggs in late 2005 after being separated from a male company for greater than two years. Scientists initially assumed she have been able to store sperm from her previous stumble upon with a male, an adaptation referred to as superfecundation.[61] On 20 December 2006, it was reported that Flora, a captive Komodo dragon residing within the Chester Zoo in England, was the second recognized Komodo dragon to have laid unfertilised eggs: she laid Eleven eggs, and seven of them hatched, they all male.[62] Scientists at Liverpool University in England carried out genetic tests on 3 eggs that collapsed after being moved to an incubator, and verified Flora had never been in bodily touch with a male dragon. After Flora's eggs' situation have been came upon, checking out confirmed Sungai's eggs had been also produced with out out of doors fertilization.[63] On 31 January 2008, the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas, became the first zoo within the Americas to file parthenogenesis in Komodo dragons. The zoo has two adult female Komodo dragons, one of which laid about 17 eggs on 19–20 May 2007. Only two eggs have been incubated and hatched due to house problems; the primary hatched on 31 January 2008, whilst the second one hatched on 1 February. Both hatchlings had been males.[64][65]

Komodo dragons have the ZW chromosomal sex-determination machine, versus the mammalian XY system. Male progeny turn out Flora's unfertilized eggs had been haploid (n) and doubled their chromosomes later to turn out to be diploid (2n) (by being fertilized by means of a polar frame, or by way of chromosome duplication with out cellular department), reasonably than through her laying diploid eggs through probably the most meiosis reduction-divisions in her ovaries failing. When a female Komodo dragon (with ZW intercourse chromosomes) reproduces in this way, she supplies her progeny with just one chromosome from each of her pairs of chromosomes, including best one in every of her two intercourse chromosomes. This unmarried set of chromosomes is duplicated within the egg, which develops parthenogenetically. Eggs receiving a Z chromosome change into ZZ (male); the ones receiving a W chromosome develop into WW and fail to broaden,[66][67] which means that only males are produced through parthenogenesis on this species.

It has been hypothesised that this reproductive adaptation allows a unmarried female to enter an remoted ecological area of interest (such as an island) and by parthenogenesis produce male offspring, thereby setting up a sexually reproducing inhabitants (by means of reproduction together with her offspring that can result in both female and male younger).[66] Despite the benefits of such an adaptation, zoos are cautioned that parthenogenesis is also adverse to genetic diversity.[68]

Incidents with people

Humans handling a komodo dragon

Attacks on humans are rare, but Komodo dragons had been chargeable for several human fatalities, in both the wild and in captivity. According to knowledge from Komodo National Park spanning a 38-year duration between 1974 and 2012, there have been 24 reported attacks on humans, five of them deadly. Most of the sufferers had been local villagers dwelling around the nationwide park.[69] Reports of attacks come with:[70]

1974: A visiting Swiss tourist, Baron Rudolf von Reding von Biberegg, who disappeared on Komodo Island, can have been killed and eaten via Komodo dragons.[71] 2001: A Komodo dragon attacked Phil Bronstein, an investigative journalist and previous husband of actress Sharon Stone, within the Los Angeles Zoo.[70] 2007: A Komodo dragon killed an 8-year-old boy on Komodo Island.[70] 2008: A group of five scuba divers have been stranded on the seaside of Rinca Island, and have been attacked via Komodo dragons. After two days, the divers' ordeal ended when they have been picked up by an Indonesian rescue boat.[70] 2009: Muhamad Anwar, a 31-year-old Komodo Island native, was once killed by means of two dragons after he fell from a tree when he was picking sugar apples.[70] 2009: Maen, a countrywide park guide stationed on Rinca Island, was ambushed and bitten through a Komodo dragon which had walked into his workplace and lay under his table. Despite suffering some injuries, the guide survived.[70] May 2017: Lon Lee Alle, a 50-year-old Singaporean vacationer (or Loh Lee Aik, mentioned to be 68), used to be attacked by way of a Komodo dragon on Komodo Island.[72] The sufferer survived the assault, but his left leg used to be severely injured.[73] November 2017: Yosef Paska, an area building worker, used to be attacked on Rinca Island and taken to Labuan Bajo by way of speedboat for remedy.[74]

Conservation

Komodo dragons on Rinca

The Komodo dragon is classified by the IUCN as a susceptible species and is listed on the IUCN Red List.[2] The species' sensitivity to natural and man-made threats has long been known by way of conservationists, zoological societies, and the Indonesian government. Komodo National Park was based in 1980 to give protection to Komodo dragon populations on islands together with Komodo, Rinca, and Padar.[75] Later, the Wae Wuul and Wolo Tado Reserves had been opened on Flores to help Komodo dragon conservation.[12]

Komodo dragons in most cases keep away from encounters with humans. Juveniles are very shy and can flee briefly right into a hideout if a human comes closer than about One hundred metres (330 toes). Older animals may even retreat from people from a shorter distance away. If cornered, they will react aggressively through gaping their mouth, hissing, and swinging their tail. If they are disturbed additional, they'll assault and chew. Although there are anecdotes of unprovoked Komodo dragons attacking or preying on humans, these kinds of reviews are either now not reputable or have therefore been interpreted as defensive bites. Only very few circumstances are actually the results of unprovoked attacks by means of ordinary individuals who lost their fear of humans.[42]

Volcanic task, earthquakes, lack of habitat, fire,[25][12] tourism, loss of prey because of poaching, and illegal poaching of the dragons themselves have all contributed to the vulnerable standing of the Komodo dragon. Under Appendix I of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), business industry of Komodo dragon skins or specimens is against the law.[76][77] Despite this, there are occasional reports of unlawful makes an attempt to industry in reside Komodo dragons. The most recent attempt was once in March 2019, when Indonesian police in the East Java city of Surabaya reported that a felony community had been stuck trying to smuggle 41 young Komodo dragons out of Indonesia. The plan used to be mentioned to incorporate delivery the animals to several different countries in Southeast Asia via Singapore. It was once was hoping that the animals could be offered for as much as 500 million rupiah (round US,000) each.[78] It was believed that the Komodo dragons were smuggled out of East Nusa Tenggara province in the course of the port at Ende in central Flores.[79]

In 2013, the full population of Komodo dragons within the wild was once assessed as 3,222 individuals, declining to a few,092 in 2014 and three,014 in 2015. Populations remained reasonably solid on the larger islands (Komodo and Rinca), however diminished on smaller islands, equivalent to Nusa Kode and Gili Motang, most likely because of diminishing prey availability.[80] On Padar, a former inhabitants of Komodo dragons has not too long ago turn out to be extinct, of which the closing individuals had been noticed in 1975.[81] It is broadly assumed that the Komodo dragon died out on Padar following a major decline of populations of huge ungulate prey, for which poaching used to be possibly responsible.[82]

In captivity ">Play media Komodo dragon in San Diego Zoo (video clip)

Komodo dragons have long been sought-after zoo points of interest, the place their length and reputation lead them to popular exhibits. They are, on the other hand, rare in zoos because they are susceptible to infection and parasitic illness if captured from the wild, and do not readily reproduce in captivity.[14] The first Komodo dragons were displayed at London Zoo in 1927. A Komodo dragon was once exhibited in 1934 within the United States at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., however it lived for most effective two years. More makes an attempt to exhibit Komodo dragons have been made, but the lifespan of the animals proved very brief, averaging 5 years in the National Zoological Park. Studies had been completed through Walter Auffenberg, which have been documented in his ebook The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor, eventually allowed for more successful management and breeding of the dragons in captivity.[11] As of May 2009, there were 35 North American, 13 European, one Singaporean, two African, and two Australian establishments which housed captive Komodo dragons.[83]

A number of behaviors have been noticed from captive specimens. Most people develop into relatively tame inside a little while,[84][85] and are in a position to recognising particular person people and discriminating between acquainted and unfamiliar keepers.[86] Komodo dragons have also been seen to engage in play with a lot of items, including shovels, cans, plastic rings, and footwear. This behavior does now not appear to be "food-motivated predatory behavior."[37][4][87]

Even seemingly docile dragons might develop into unpredictably competitive, especially when the animal's territory is invaded by way of somebody unfamiliar. In June 2001, a Komodo dragon significantly injured Phil Bronstein, the then-husband of actress Sharon Stone, when he entered its enclosure on the Los Angeles Zoo after being invited in via its keeper. Bronstein was bitten on his naked foot, because the keeper had instructed him to take off his white shoes and socks, which the keeper stated may just doubtlessly excite the Komodo dragon as they had been the same colour as the white rats the zoo fed the dragon.[88][89] Although he survived, Bronstein needed to have several tendons in his foot reattached surgically.[90]

References

^ a b c .mw-parser-output cite.quotationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .quotation qquotes:"\"""\"""'""'".mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .quotation .cs1-lock-free abackground:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")appropriate 0.1em middle/9px no-repeat.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:linear-gradient(transparent,clear),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")correct 0.1em heart/9px no-repeat.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .quotation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:linear-gradient(transparent,clear),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em middle/9px no-repeat.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errorshow:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintshow:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflinkfont-weight:inheritHocknull SA, Piper PJ, van den Bergh GD, Due RA, Morwood MJ, Kurniawan I (2009). "Dragon's Paradise Lost: Palaeobiogeography, Evolution and Extinction of the Largest-Ever Terrestrial Lizards (Varanidae)". PLOS ONE. 4 (9): e7241. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.7241H. doi:10.1371/magazine.pone.0007241. PMC 2748693. PMID 19789642. ^ a b World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Varanus komodoensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T22884A9396736. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T22884A9396736.en. ^ a b Ouwens, P. A. (1912). "On a large Varanus species from the island of Komodo". Bulletin de l'Institut Botanique de Buitenzorg. 2. 6: 1–3. Retrieved 6 March 2017. ^ a b c d e f g h Ciofi, Claudio (March 1999). "The Komodo Dragon". Scientific American. 280 (3): 84–91. Bibcode:1999SciAm.280c..84C. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0399-84. ^ Chalmers Mitchell, Peter (15 June 1927). "Reptiles at the Zoo: Opening of new house today". The London Times. London, UK. p. 17. ^ Procter, J. B. (1928). "On a living Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis Ouwens, exhibited at the Scientific Meeting, October 23rd, 1928". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 98 (4): 1017–19. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1928.tb07181.x. ^ Rony, Fatimah Tobing (1996). The third eye: Race, cinema, and ethnographic spectacle. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-8223-1840-8. ^ a b "Komodo National Park Frequently Asked Questions". Komodo Foundation. Retrieved 25 October 2007. ^ "American Museum of Natural History: Komodo Dragons". American Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2007. ^ Cheater, Mark (August–September 2003). "Chasing the Magic Dragon". National Wildlife Magazine. 41 (5). Archived from the unique on 20 February 2009. ^ a b Walsh, Trooper; Murphy, James Jerome; Ciofi, Claudio; De LA Panouse, Colomba (2002). Komodo Dragons: Biology and Conservation. Zoo and Aquarium Biology and Conservation Series. 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Further studying

Attenborough, David (1957). Zoo Quest for a Dragon. London: Lutterworth Press. Auffenberg, Walter (1981). The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-0621-5. Burden, W. Douglas (1927). Dragon Lizards of Komodo: An Expedition to the Lost World of the Dutch East Indies. New York, London: G.P. Putnum's Sons. Eberhard, Jo; King, Dennis; Green, Brian; Knight, Frank; Keith Newgrain (1999). Monitors: The Biology of Varanid Lizards. Malabar, Fla: Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-57524-112-8. Lutz, Richard L; Lutz, Judy Marie (1997). Komodo: The Living Dragon. Salem, Or: DiMI Press. ISBN 978-0-931625-27-5.

External hyperlinks

Media associated with Varanus komodoensis (category) at Wikimedia Commons Data associated with Varanus komodoensis at WikispeciesvteVaranoidea Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: SquamataExtant speciesHelodermatidae Chiapan beaded lizard (H. alvarezi) Guatemalan beaded lizard (H. charlesbogerti) Rio Fuerte beaded lizard (H. exasperatum) Mexican beaded lizard (H. horridum) Gila monster (H. suspectum)Lanthanotus Earless monitor lizard (L. borneensis)Varanus Asian water observe (V. salvator) Black tree track (V. beccarii) Black-headed track (V. tristis) Bengal track (V. bengalensis) Black-spotted ridge-tailed monitor (V. baritji) Blue-tailed observe (V. doreanus) Crocodile track (V. salvadorii) Desert track (V. griseus) Dumeril's observe (V. dumerilii) Emerald tree monitor (V. prasinus) Gray's observe (V. olivaceus) Kimberely rock monitor (V. glauerti) Komodo dragon (V. komodoensis) Lace monitor (V. varius) Mangrove observe (V. indicus) Merten's water monitor (V. mertensi) Mitchell's water track (V. mitchelli) Nile monitor (V. niloticus) Peacock observe (V. auffenbergi) Peach-throated observe (V. jobiensis) Perentie (V. giganteus) Pygmy mulga observe (V. gilleni) Quince observe (V. melinus) Rock observe (V. albigularis) Pilbara observe (V. bushi) Rennel Island track (V. juxtindicus) Rosenberg's observe (V. rosenbergi) Roughneck observe (V. rudicollis) Short-tailed pygmy observe (V. brevicauda) Spiny-tailed monitor (V. acanthurus) Turquoise observe (V. caerulivirens) Sand goanna (V. gouldii) Savannah monitor (V. exanthematicus) Yellow observe (V. flavescens) Yellow-spotted track (V. panoptes) Yemen observe (V. yemenensis)Related categories Monitor lizards Cretaceous lizards HelodermatidaeFossil taxa†Palaeovaranidae PalaeovaranusVaranidae Aiolosaurus Cherminotus Megalania Ovoo Saniwa Saniwides Varanus amnhophilisOthers Telmasaurus Palaeosaniwa vteIndonesia articlesHistory Timeline Hinduism-Buddhism era Spread of Islam VOC technology (1603–1800) Dutch East Indies (1800–1942) Japanese career (1942–45) National Revolution (1945–49) Liberal democracy technology (1950–57) Guided Democracy (1957–65) Transitional length (1965–66) New Order (1966–98) Reformasi (since 1998)Geography Borders Cities Biosphere reserves Deforestation Earthquakes Environmental issues Geology Islands Lakes Mountains Provincial highest points National parks Natural historical past Fauna Flora Regions Rivers VolcanoesPolitics Administrative divisions Cabinet Constitution Elections Foreign family members Human rights Law enforcement Military National capital Pancasila People's Consultative Assembly Police Political events President (List) Wawasan NusantaraEconomic system Agriculture Automotive Aviation Banks Energy History Science and technology Stock Exchange Telecommunications Tourism Transport Water supply and sanitationSociety Crime Prostitution Human traffickingCulture Architecture Rumah adat Candi Mosques Colonial Art Batik Ikat Wayang Cinema Cuisine Dance Heroes Legends Literature Martial arts Pencak silat Media Music Gamelan Properties Public holidays Sport Video gamingDemographics Education Ethnic teams Health Healthcare Homelessness Languages Nusantara Religion WomenSymbols Anthem Costume Emblem Faunal logos Flag Floral logos Garuda Motto Personification SongsOutlineIndex Category Portal Gallery Atlas Taxon identifiers Wikidata: Q4504 Wikispecies: Varanus komodoensis ADW: Varanus_komodoensis ARKive: varanus-komodoensis BioLib: 59493 ECOS: 6201 EoL: 790179 EPPO: VARNKO GBIF: 2470854 iNaturalist: 39449 IRMNG: 11395309 ITIS: 202168 IUCN: 22884 NCBI: 61221 RD: komodoensis Species+: 7119 uBio: 208829 Authority keep an eye on GND: 4444717-6 LCCN: sh88005390 MA: 2778664781

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