What are 3 adaptations of a Komodo dragon?
Komodo dragons have adapted the ability to regulate their body temperatures. If they are cold they bask in the sun, whereas if they are warm they go into the shade to cool their bodies down. Komodo dragons can hear and see, but they use their tongue as their main sense.
What are Komodo dragons special features?
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, muscular tails.
Do Komodo dragons smell with their tongue?
Komodo dragons, or Komodo monitors, are the largest, heaviest lizards in the world — and one of the few with a venomous bite. These stealthy, powerful hunters rely on their sense of smell to detect food, using their long, forked tongues to sample the air.
Are Komodo dragons cold-blooded?
The Komodo dragon can reach speeds of up to 13 miles per hour. Their lifespan can reach up to 30 years in the wild. Being cold-blooded, they spend a lot of time in the sun to keep warm. A Komodo dragon often fights with another dragon.
Does Komodo dragon have poison?
Researchers have discovered that the bite of the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, is venomous. But many experts have claimed the victims die after being infected with bacteria that cover the lizards’ serrated teeth. …
Is the Komodo dragon a cannibal?
2. Baby Komodo dragons are vulnerable to cannibalism by adults, which comprises 10 percent of its diet from comsuming its species’ young ones. Their claws make them ideal climbers, but only when young—they become too heavy to climb trees as adults.
How are Komodo dragons adapted to live in the wild?
The Komodo Dragons filthy mouth helps it survive in the wild because if it’s bite does not kill the animal then the bacteria will. This adaptation developed because its prey is very fast and can out run it. Once the dragon bites the animal it will stay close.
How big is a full grown Komodo dragon?
Komodo dragons are among the few hardy organisms that survive well in the harsh climate of the Sunda Islands. These dragons are the largest lizards in the world; according to National Geographic, adults may reach lengths exceeding 10 feet from head to tail and may weigh over 300 pounds.
What kind of osteoderms does a Komodo dragon have?
The only areas lacking osteoderms on the head of the adult Komodo dragon are around the eyes, nostrils, mouth margins, and pineal eye, a light-sensing organ on the top of the head. Where lizards typically have one or two varying patterns or shapes of osteoderms, komodo’s have four: rosette, platy, dendritic, and vermiform.
How is the Komodo dragon related to the crocodile monitor?
Genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA shows the Komodo dragon to be the closest relative (sister taxon) of the lace monitor (V. varius), with their common ancestor diverging from a lineage that gave rise to the crocodile monitor (Varanus salvadorii) of New Guinea.