Komodo dragon: see lizard lizard, a reptile of the order Squamata, which also includes the snake. Lizards form the suborder Sauria, and there are over 3,000 lizard species distributed throughout the world (except for the polar regions), with the greatest number found in warm climates.
..... Click the link for more information. ; monitor monitor, any of various dragonlike, mostly tropical lizards. A monitor lizard has a heavy body, long head and neck, long tail that comes to a whiplike end, and strong legs with sharp claws. Its slender, forked tongue is protrusible.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Largest living lizard (Varanus komodoensis), a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae. They live on Komodo Island and a few neighbouring islands in Indonesia. Driven almost to extinction, they are now protected. Komodos grow to 10 ft (3 m) long, weigh up to 300 lb (135 kg), and may live up to 100 years. They dig a burrow as deep as 30 ft (9 m). Carrion is their main diet, but adults may eat smaller Komodos. They can run swiftly and occasionally attack and kill humans.
Komodo dragon [kə′mō·dō ′drag·ən]
Komodo Dragon
Darevskii, I. S., and S. Kardarson. “O biologii gigantskogo indonesziiskogo varana.” Zoologicheskii zhurnal, 1964, vol. 43, issue 9.
..... Click the link for more information. ; monitor monitor, any of various dragonlike, mostly tropical lizards. A monitor lizard has a heavy body, long head and neck, long tail that comes to a whiplike end, and strong legs with sharp claws. Its slender, forked tongue is protrusible.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Komodo dragon
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Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).
(credit: James A. Kern)
Komodo dragon [kə′mō·dō ′drag·ən]
(vertebrate zoology)
Varanus komodoensis.A predatory reptile of the family Varanidae found only on the island of Komodo; it is the largest living lizard and may grow to 10 feet (3 meters).
Komodo Dragon
(Komodo lizard, giant monitor), Varanus komodoensis, the largest representative of the genus Varanus and of all extant lizards.
The largest of the Komodo dragons are more than 3 m long and weigh as much as 150 kg (according to the latest data). The species is found on the islands of Komodo, Rintja, Pantar, and Flores. It digs burrows up to 5 m deep, and it swims well. It feeds on wild boars, goats, deer, monkeys, dogs, and carrion. Instances of attacks on humans are known. In May the female lays up to 25 eggs in the burrow, each egg weighing about 200 g. The incubation period is 8–8.5 months. The hatched young are as long as 30 cm.
REFERENCES
Maleev, E. A., and I. S. Darevskii. “ ’Drakony’ ostrova Komodo.” Priroda, 1963, no. 3.Darevskii, I. S., and S. Kardarson. “O biologii gigantskogo indonesziiskogo varana.” Zoologicheskii zhurnal, 1964, vol. 43, issue 9.
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