Komodo Dragons Found to Produce Venom

The new research refutes this theory and says that after biting the prey with its serrated teeth the Komodo then discharges powerful venom from special glands to cripple its victim.  It may seem like a subtle difference,  but it is a significant finding that biologists claim proves a link between the Komodo and other large venom producing reptiles, hinting that they may have all evolved from a single common ancestor.

 

Komodo dragons are the largest lizards in the world and live in the islands of Indonesia. They can grow as heavy as 220 pounds and as long as 10 feet.

 

Komodo DragonsWhile they are definitely scary creatures, their bites aren't quite as powerful as a crocodile's and they can't hold down their prey as their legs are so short. This has led researchers over the years to wonder how exactly they killed their victims.

 

Up until this new study, scientists believed that the dragons infected their prey with toxic bacteria that built up in their saliva as a result of the pieces of meat stuck between their teeth.

 

After being bitten a lot of the dragons' prey managed to get escape immediate danger, but eventually collapsed later on. The Komodo would then find and eat the animal.

 

But after the recent study that was carried out by a team of scientists headed by Dr. Bryan Fry from the University of Melbourne in Australia, it turns out that the prey may be killed not by the Komodo's poor dental hygiene but by an evolutionary weapon that is unique to certain reptiles.

 

According to Fry and his team, the dragon bites its prey, which weakens and immobilizes it, and then shoots venom into it from special glands in its mouth.  The venom is housed in ducts that feed into the lizard's teeth. When the dragon bites the prey, the venom drains through the ducts in their teeth right into the victim's wounds.

 

The venom then stops blood from clotting around the injured prey's wound and it keeps on bleeding. It also causes the victim's blood pressure to fall, and this fatal combination greatly weakens the prey.

 

Fry said the dragons are sometimes able to hunt prey larger and stronger than themselves because they only have to bite their victims once, instead of having to hold them or engage in any kind of wrestling with them. This means they can strike quickly and then move away before their prey can retaliate, simply biding their time until the venom takes effect.

 

Although the Komodo Dragons are largely placid creatures, they aren't afraid of going after humans if they feel threatened or hungry, and a few people have been killed by the beasts over the last several years.