Komodo dragon why are they called dragons

A dragon can eat a whopping 80 percent of its body weight in a single feeding. While asexual reproduction does allow female Komodo dragons to replenish their population—an evolutionary advantage—it has a significant drawback: This reproduction process only results in sons.

The dearth of other females within a population has led to evidence of inbreeding. But tourists are also important to conservation efforts, as the economic boost they provide incentives to locals to help protect the Komodo dragon.

This square-mile refuge is also home to species such as the orange-footed scrub fowl and Timor deer, as well as a rich marine environment supporting whales, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, corals, sponges, manta rays, and more than a thousand species of fish.

It also works with local communities to build awareness of the species and the importance of protecting it. All rights reserved. Animals Photo Ark. Komodo dragon. A Komodo dragon photographed at Houston Zoo in Texas. Common Name: Komodo dragons. Scientific Name: Varanus komodoensis. Type: Reptiles.

Diet: Carnivore. Size: 10 feet. Weight: pounds. Size relative to a 6-ft man:. Least Concern Extinct. Current Population Trend: Unknown. This photo was submitted to Your Shot, our photo community on Instagram. Follow us on Instagram at natgeoyourshot or visit us at natgeo.

Komodo dragons live on a small island in Indonesia called Komodo Island. There are protected parks where the Komodo dragons live on the islands of Rinca and Flores as well as a few other smaller islands. There are around 3, dragons in total, in the wild, on these islands. About 2, people live on Komodo Island too. A Komodo dragon using its deadly bite on a pumpkin. For a long time it was believed that the mouth of the Komodo dragon was so filled with bacteria that if an animal was bitten it would become infected and slowly die.

New research shows that the dragons have venom in their bite that cause their prey to bleed to death after they are bitten! Komodo dragons usually eat deer, pigs, goats and even smaller Komodo dragons. Lizards typically have four legs with five toes on each foot, although a few, such as the worm lizard and the so-called glass snake, are limbless, retaining only internal vestiges of legs. Lizards are also distinguished from snakes by having ear openings, movable eyelids, and less flexible jaws.

As in snakes, there is a chemosensory organ opening in the roof of the mouth. The tongue, which may be short and wide, slender and forked, or highly extendible, conveys particles from the environment to this organ.

The skin of the lizard is scaly and in most species is molted in irregular patches. Members of several lizard families, notably the chameleons, undergo color changes under the influence of environmental and emotional stimuli.

Many lizards are arboreal, and many terrestrial species are well adapted for climbing. They are often fast runners, some achieving speeds of over 15 mph. Some are adapted for burrowing. Most can swim and a few lead a semiaquatic existence, among them the single marine species, an iguana of the Galapagos Islands. Gliding forms, the flying dragons, are found in the forests of South East Asia. The gila monster and the related beaded lizard of the North American deserts are the only known poisonous lizards; despite folklore, the bite of the gecko is not poisonous.

Members of most species are carnivorous, feeding especially on insects, but some are herbivorous or omnivorous. The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard in the world, growing to an average length of 10 feet. In the wild large adults tend to weigh around pounds. Captive specimens often weigh more. The largest verified specimen was 10 feet 3 inches long and weighed pounds, including undigested food.

The Papua monitor, Varanus salvadorii, may surpass the Komodo in length but it is slimmer and weighs less. Fertilization is internal in lizards; males have paired copulatory organs, characteristic of the order. In most species females lay eggs, which they bury in the ground, but in some the eggs are incubated in the oviducts and hatched as they are laid.