Ratu :
Komodo , or more
so-called Komodo dragons ( Varanus komodoensis ) , is the world's largest
lizard species that live on the islands of Komodo , Rinca , Flores , Gili Mota
, and Gili Dasami in Nusa Tenggara . This lizard by the natives of Komodo
island is also called by local names ora .
Including members of the lizard family Varanidae , and klad Toxicofera ,
dragons are the largest lizards in the world , with an average length of 2-3 m
. Their large size is attributed to island gigantism , the tendency for the
body meraksasanya certain animals that live in small island linked to the
absence of mammalian carnivores on the island where dragons live , and
metabolic rate are small dragons . Because of his body , these lizards occupy
the position of a top predator that dominate the ecosystems in which they live
.
Rika :
In the wild ,
adult Komodo dragon usually weighs around 70 pounds , but the dragons are kept
in captivity often have a greater body weight . The largest verified wild
specimen there was 3.13 meters in length and weighing about 166 kilograms ,
including the weight of undigested food in the stomach . Although listed as the
largest lizard dragons are still alive , but not the longest . This reputation
held by Papua lizard ( Varanus salvadorii ) .
The Komodo dragon has a tail as long as the body , and about 60 pieces of sharp
serrated teeth along approximately 2.5 cm , which is often substituted . Their
saliva is often blood-tinged, because its teeth are almost completely covered
by gingival tissue and this tissue naturally lacerated during feeding . This
creates an ideal culture for the virulent bacteria that live in their mouths .
The Komodo dragon has a long tongue , yellow and forked . Komodo
dragons males larger
than females, with skin the color of
dark gray to brick
red, while more
female dragons are
green olives, and have a small piece of
yellow on the throat.
Young Komodo dragons more colorful,
with yellow, green and white on a black
background.
Elya :
Komodo does not have the sense
of hearing, despite having the ear
hole. [13] Komodo
is able to see as
far as 300 m, but because the retina
contains only cones, these animals do not
seem so well seen in the darkness of night. Komodo is able to distinguish
colors, but not how
to distinguish stationary objects.
Komodo dragon uses its tongue to detect
taste and smell
stimuli, like other reptiles,
with the vomeronasal sense using a Jacobson's organ, a sense that aids navigation in the dark. With the help of the wind, and his
habit of cocking his head to the right and to the
left when walking, dragons
can detect the presence of carrion as far as 4-9.5
kilometers. komodo dragons' nostrils
olfaction is not a good tool because
they do not have
a diaphragm. these animals have
no sense of taste in the tongue, there are few nerve
endings taste in the back of the throat.
Dragons scales, some
of which are reinforced with bone, have sensory
plaques connected to nerves that facilitate
the sense of touch. The scales
around the ears, lips,
chin, and soles of the feet may have
three or more sensory plaques.
Komodo dragons were thought to be deaf
when a study reported that whispers, raised voices and shouting did not
result in agitation (interference) in the wild
dragons. This was disputed when London Zoological Garden employee Joan Proctor trained lizards to eat out with his voice,
even when she could not be seen by
the lizards.
Ifal :
Komodo dragons
are carnivores . Although they eat mostly carrion , studies show that they also
hunt live prey with a stealthy approach followed by a sudden attack against the
victim . When the prey arrives near the hidden dragons , animals be attacked on
the underside or the throat . Komodo can find their prey using a keen sense of
smell , which can locate a dead or dying animal at a distance of 9.5 kilometers
.
Young Komodo dragons on Rinca who ate buffalo carcass .
Ancient reptiles ate by tearing large chunks of flesh and then swallow her
whole body while the legs hold her prey . For small prey up for lamb , the meat
can be spent on one swallow . Stomach contents of prey in the form of herbs are
usually left untouched .
Komodo dragons prey is wide-ranging , and includes invertebrates , other
reptiles ( including the smaller -bodied dragons ) , birds and their eggs ,
small mammals , monkeys , wild boar , goats , deer , horses , and buffalo .
Young Komodo dragons prey on insects , eggs , lizards , and small mammals .
Dragons are also sometimes prey on humans and bodies unearthed from a shallow
grave pit . This habit led to Komodo island residents avoid sandy soils and
chose to bury their dead in clay , and covered it with stones that can not be
extracted dragons .
Kamal :
The mating
season occurs between May and August , and the dragons eggs laid in September .
During this period , male dragon fighting to retain females and territory by
way of " wrestling " with another male while standing on his hind
legs .
Females will lay their eggs in holes in the ground , scraping cliff nests hill
or mound of burnt - orange legs that have been abandoned . A Komodo dragon nest
contains an average of 20 eggs which will hatch after 7-8 months . Females lay
on the eggs to incubate and protect them until they hatch around April, at the
end of the rainy season when there are so many insects . Hatching is an
exhausting effort for the pups , who came out of their eggshells with an egg
tooth to be dated after the hard work is completed . After cutting out the egg
shells , hatchlings may lie in their eggshells for hours before starting to dig
out of the nest . When hatched , the babies are not how helpless and can be eaten
by predators . Young Komodo dragons spend their first years in trees , where
they are relatively safe from predators , including adult dragons are cannibals
, that approximately 10 % of the food is a young lizard - lizard who
successfully hunted . Dragons take three to five years to mature , and may live
more than 50 years .