Their powerful, muscular tail is as long as the body.They have massive claws and powerful legs.The adults are covered with brown or gray scaly skin juveniles are dark green with yellow and black bands.Male Komodo dragons are up to 10 feet (3 m) long females are up to eight feet (2.4 m) long.

Their sense of smell is so acute, they can detect the smell of dead or dying animals up to five miles away. They have a Jacobson’s organ on the roof of the mouth that analyzes the information from the tongue and signals the direction of potential prey. Using their forked tongues, they test the air for the scent of warm-blooded animals. The Komodo dragon’s sense of smell is their primary method of detecting food. The largest male dragons eat first, followed by smaller males and females, and finally by the juvenile dragons that descend from the safety of the trees to eat whatever remains. Attracted by the smell, several dragons converge on dead or decaying animals. Komodo dragon saliva contains 50 different strains of toxic bacteria that cause deadly infections in the prey animal. If the prey does not die from the initial attack, the dragon follows the injured animal until it dies due to blood loss or infection. They use a stealthy approach when hunting prey, using their long claws and sharp teeth to attack the unwary animal as it passes by. Many lizards eat plants but Komodo dragons are carnivores and mainly eat carrion, but also ambush large prey. Their sharp claws are used to attack and hold prey. Their teeth allow dragons to tear off large chunks of flesh which they swallow whole. Dragons can go through four or five sets of teeth in their lifetime.

Lost or damaged teeth are constantly replaced. Komodo dragons have 60 razor sharp teeth up to one inch (2.5 cm) long. Adaptations All the Better to Eat You With…

Comodo dragon picture