When it comes to the Komodo dragon, I believe everyone is familiar with it. It is the largest living lizard and is the only lizard with teeth in its mouth. On the Internet, many animal science popularizers attribute the Komodo dragon’s killer weapon to the bacteria in its mouth. In fact, this is a wrong statement. What is the truth? Let’s find out.

Indonesia’s unique species - Komodo dragon

Lizards are one of the oldest existing reptiles, and they appeared earlier than dinosaurs. As a primitive reptile, lizards are found almost all over the world. There are more than 4,700 existing species of lizards, among which the Komodo dragon is the largest.

In appearance, Komodo dragons are very similar to existing crocodiles. For example, they have a large number of scales covering their bodies, and they are both carnivores. The difference is that Komodo dragons are purely terrestrial creatures and are not amphibious like crocodiles. The Komodo dragon is also known as the Komodo dragon because of its resemblance to the dinosaurs of the Jurassic period.

From a distribution point of view, Komodo dragons are only distributed on four islands in Indonesia, namely: Komodo Island, Rinca Island, Motang Island and Flores Island. Among the four islands, Flores has the largest number of Komodo dragons.

From a biological classification point of view, the Komodo dragon is a member of the reptile family Squamidae, and is also the largest species of the family. The adult male Komodo dragon is 2 in length. -3 meters, weighing between 70-90 kilograms, while female Komodo dragons are much smaller than males, with a general body length between 1.2-2 meters and a weight between 50-65 kilograms.

The Komodo dragon has short limbs, so like the crocodile, it cannot crawl very fast. But crocodiles have water as a hunting cover, and they can always sneak up on animals that come to the river to drink water. So what does the Komodo dragon rely on?

The hunting style of Komodo dragons

Komodo dragons, like most carnivorous reptiles, are opportunists. This means that as long as it is meat, it will accept it. Therefore, carrion has become one of the main foods of the Komodo dragon. However, carrion alone is not enough, so it must hunt its own prey.

Although the Komodo dragon does not move very fast, its dark brown skin blends in with the natural environment to a certain extent, and its short and thick limbs are not easy to make sounds when moving. . Therefore, most of the hunting methods of Komodo dragons are sneak attacks.

When a Komodo dragon approaches its prey, it will suddenly accelerate and bite any part of the prey. The rest is just a matter of time, because a Komodo dragon's bite can cause the prey to bleed profusely, so even if the prey breaks free after being bitten, it only needs to follow the blood trail to find the prey.

Is the prey bleeding after being bitten because of the bacteria in the mouth of the Komodo dragon?

In the past, the Komodo dragon has aroused strong interest among scientists since its discovery. The reason is simple. Many scientists believe that it is directly related to dinosaurs. However, after research, it was found that the Komodo dragon was just a different branch of evolution with the same ancestor as the dinosaurs, and there was still a long way to go.

According to observations, scientists also discovered an interesting thing, that is, Komodo dragons often only need one bite to hunt, and the prey will bleed profusely. This has also aroused the interest of scientists. After analyzing the saliva (saliva) of Komodo dragons, it was found that there are 48 different kinds of bacteria in the mouth of Komodo dragons. Therefore, scientists believe that these bacteria are responsible for causing bitten prey to bleed profusely.

Since then, it has become a seemingly "iron fact" that the Komodo dragon's mouth contains a large number of bacteria. However, this theory was quickly debunked. Dr. Brian Fry, a venom research expert at the University of Melbourne in Australia, discovered through anatomy of the Komodo dragon's head that it was not the bacteria in the Komodo dragon's mouth that caused the bitten prey to bleed, but the venom.

The venom comes from the multiple venom glands in the Komodo dragon's mouth. When it bites its prey, the venom glands in the Komodo dragon's mouth will immediately release venom, and the venom enters the prey through the bite wound. . After research on the venom of Komodo dragons, it was found that its venom is similar to the venom of poisonous snakes. It is a neurotoxin. This toxin has an anti-blood coagulation effect. Not only that, the venom can also cause muscle paralysis after entering the animal's body. , loss of consciousness, etc. This is the main reason why the Komodo dragon only needs to follow slowly after taking a bite of its prey. Because it knows that under the destruction of its own venom, the bitten animal can no longer run fast or far.

Can the venom of Komodo dragons be used in cannibalism?

The Komodo dragon is a solitary reptile. Therefore, when fighting for prey and mating rights, adult male Komodo dragons often break out in fights. So, could their venom be used in combat?

When Komodo dragons duel, they often use their tails to sweep their opponents, or they directly use their tails and two powerful hind limbs to support their bodies to collide and bite each other. However, their bites are only shocking, because the Komodo dragon has thick and strong skin, and its teeth of about 2 centimeters alone are completely unable to break through the defense, so its venom cannot enter the opponent's body at all.

Therefore, the venom of Komodo dragons is almost useless in cannibalism. And although the fights between the same kind of Komodo dragons are very fierce, they are all based on shocking each other, so they will not attack each other with their sharp and thick claws, so there will be no fatal situations (same as In the case of adult males).

Summary

The reason why Komodo dragons cause animals to bleed profusely has always been thought to be the bacteria in their mouths. In fact, these bacteria are very similar to the bacteria in the mouths of most scavengers. Similarly, it has no special toxicity, but the multiple poison glands in its mouth are the main reason why animals are frightened by it.