Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis · Animal
The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard on Earth, found only on a few Indonesian islands. It is an ambush predator with venom glands in its lower jaw.
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Varanus komodoensis
- Kind
- Animal
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN EN)
- Habitat
- Dry savanna and forest
- Range
- Komodo, Rinca, Flores and nearby islands (Indonesia)
- Size
- Up to 3 m long
- Weight
- Up to about 70 kg
- Lifespan
- About 30 years
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Activity
- Diurnal · solitary
- Population
- ≈ 3,000–3,500 in the wild
Diet
Ambushes deer, pigs and water buffalo and also eats carrion, which it can smell from kilometres away.
Behavior
Females can sometimes reproduce without a male (parthenogenesis). Young dragons live in trees to avoid larger adults.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Varanidae
- Genus
- Varanus
- Species
- V. komodoensis
Conservation
Moved to Endangered in 2021 because rising sea levels are expected to shrink its tiny island habitat.
Main threats
- Sea-level rise
- Very small range
- Prey poaching