Gioca STEMAnimals

Animals · Reptiles and amphibians

Komodo dragon

Varanus komodoensis

The largest living lizard on Earth

A Komodo dragon walks across dry ground with its flicking forked tongue, its primary tool for searching.
A Komodo dragon walks across dry ground with its flicking forked tongue, its primary tool for searching.
  • Status: Endangered
  • Five Indonesian islands: Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang, Gili Dasami

Numbers

Weight
150 lbusual weight in the wild; the known record is 366 lb, but measured on a full stomach
Length
10 ft10 ft only in rare cases; the Wikidata value of 5 ft does not match the adult size described in the material
Lifespan
30 yearsthe material also mentions a lifespan of up to 50 years in another passage; the 30 year figure matches Wikidata
Speed
12 mphonly in short sprints
Scent distance
6 mifrom 2.5 to 6 mi, with a favorable wind
Maximum meal
80 percent of body weightin a single sitting

Ten fun facts

  1. it has about sixty serrated teeth up to one inch long that are constantly being replaced.

  2. the tips and edges of its teeth have an orange coating that is enriched with iron.

  3. while swallowing prey it breathes through a small tube under its tongue connected directly to its lungs.

  4. swallowing a whole goat takes fifteen to twenty minutes, sometimes pushing the carcass against a nearby tree.

  5. lacking a diaphragm, it cannot suck up water, so it scoops liquid into its mouth and lifts its head.

  6. it hears only sounds between four hundred and two thousand hertz, so for years people thought it was completely deaf.

  7. a young individual approaching a carcass rolls in feces to avoid being eaten by the hungry adults.

  8. ten percent of the adult diet consists of young members belonging to their very own species.

  9. in 2006 a female at Chester Zoo laid eleven unfertilized eggs, and seven hatched into healthy males.

  10. the 1926 expedition by Douglas Burden brought back two live specimens and inspired the 1933 movie King Kong.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Question 1 of 5

What did researchers discover in 2009?

Question 2 of 5

Why do young individuals spend years in trees?

Question 3 of 5

From how far away can it smell a carcass?

Question 4 of 5

Where does it live in the wild?

Question 5 of 5

How much food can it ingest in a single meal?

Try it yourself

Experiment 1

Take a tape measure and stretch it out ten feet across the floor: that is the maximum length ever recorded for this giant lizard.

Experiment 2

Calculate eighty percent of your body weight: that is how much food this animal can swallow during just a single meal.

Experiment 3

Look up a location on a map six miles from your house: that is the distance from which this animal can smell a carcass.

Data from Wikidata (Q4504) and Wikipedia (Komodo dragon).