The Komodo dragon ( Varanus komodoensis ), also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Padar.

The Komodo dragon is also known as the Komodo monitor or the Komodo Island monitor in scientific literature, although this is not very common.

The evolutionary development of the Komodo dragon started with the Varanus genus, which originated in Asia about 40 million years ago and migrated to Australia.

The Komodo dragon was believed to have differentiated from its Australian ancestors 4 million years ago.

However, recent fossil evidence from Queensland suggests that the Komodo dragon evolved in Australia before spreading to Indonesia.

Dramatic lowering of sea level during the last glacial period uncovered extensive stretches of continental shelf that the Komodo dragon colonized, becoming isolated in their present island range as sea levels rose afterwards.

In the wild, an adult Komodo dragon usually weighs around, although captive specimens often weigh more.

The Komodo dragon has a tail as long as its body, as well as about 60 frequently replaced serrated teeth that can measure up to in length.

The Komodo dragon does not have an acute sense of hearing, despite its visible earholes, and is only able to hear sounds between 400 and 2000 hertz.

The Komodo dragon is able to see in color, but has poor visual discrimination of stationary objects.

The Komodo dragon uses its tongue to detect, taste, and smell stimuli, as with many other reptiles, with the vomeronasal sense using the Jacobson's organ, rather than using the nostrils.

The Komodo dragon was formerly thought to be deaf when a study reported no agitation in wild Komodo dragons in response to whispers, raised voices, or shouts.

The Komodo dragon prefers hot and dry places, and typically lives in dry open grassland, savanna, and tropical forest at low elevations.

To catch prey that is out of reach, the Komodo dragon may stand on its hind legs and use its tail as a support.

As the Komodo dragon matures, its claws are used primarily as weapons, as its great size makes climbing impractical.

For shelter, the Komodo dragon digs holes that can measure from 1 – 3 metres ( 3 – 10 ft ) wide with its powerful forelimbs and claws.

The Komodo dragon hunts in the afternoon, but stays in the shade during the hottest part of the day.

A Komodo dragon may attempt to speed up the process by ramming the carcass against a tree to force it down its throat, sometimes ramming so forcefully that the tree is knocked down.

After digestion, the Komodo dragon regurgitates a mass of horns, hair, and teeth known as the gastric pellet, which is covered in malodorous mucus.

A young Komodo dragon photographed on Rinca feeding on a water buffalo carcass

Others have speculated that instead of social groups, at least some of these finds represent Komodo dragon-like mobbing of carcasses, where aggressive competition leads to some of the predators being killed and cannibalized.

Saliva samples were analyzed by researchers at the University of Texas who found 57 strains of bacteria growing in the mouths of three wild Komodo dragons including Pasteurella multocida.

A basking Komodo dragon photographed at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

A Komodo dragon at the National Zoological Park ( United States ) | National Zoo in Washington, D. C..

The first Komodo dragon was exhibited in 1934 at the National Zoo in Washington, D. C., but it lived for only two years.

In June 2001, a Komodo dragon seriously injured Phil Bronstein, the then husband of actress Sharon Stone, when he entered its enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo after being invited in by its keeper.

A predator at the top of any food chain ( that is, one that is preyed upon by no organism ) is called an apex predator ; examples include the orca, sperm whale, anaconda, Komodo dragon, tiger, lion, tiger shark, Nile crocodile, and most eagles -- and even omnivorous humans and grizzly bears.

There have been many animals at Cincinnati Zoo that have held records, including the longest living alligator in captivity at the time ( at about 70 years of age ), the fastest cheetah in captivity, and the largest Komodo Dragon ( which died in 2005 ).

Komodo dragons, V. komodoensis, at the National Zoo in Washington, D. C., recognize their keepers and seem to have distinct personalities.

Alor is the largest island in the Alor Archipelago located at the eastern-most end of the Lesser Sunda Islands that runs through southern Indonesia, which from the west include such islands as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, and Flores.

The endemic mammals are the endangered Flores Shrew ( Suncus mertensi ), the vulnerable Komodo Rat ( Komodomys rintjanus ), and Lombok Flying Fox ( Pteropus lombocensis ), Sunda Long-eared Bat ( Nyctophilus heran ) while the carnivorous Komodo dragon, which at three metres long and ninety kilograms in weight is the world's largest lizard, is found on Komodo, Rincah, Gili Motang, and the coast of northwestern Flores.

An IAT Fokker 50 parked at Labuan Bajo's Komodo Airport

In October 2008 IAT was offering scheduled services from Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport DPS to Selaparang Airport AMI at Mataram on the island of Lombok ; and to Labuan Bajo's Komodo Airport on the island of Flores.

In an interview with Komodo Rock at the Hard Rock Hell Festival in November 2007, Eddie Clark confirmed that he and Toby Jepson would be working on new material.

A poisonous Komodo is killed at a casino circus and a human toe is found in its cage.

A parthenogenetic baby Komodo dragon, Chester Zoo, England

On December 20, 2006, it was reported that Flora, a captive Komodo dragon living in the Chester Zoo in England, was the second known Komodo dragon to have laid unfertilized eggs: she laid 11 eggs, and seven of them hatched, all of them male.

On January 31, 2008, the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas became the first zoo in the Americas to document parthenogenesis in Komodo dragons.

Image: Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis Ragunan Zoo 2. JPG | The Komodo dragon, an insular giant, is the largest lizard and has infectious and venomous saliva.

* 1999: Sue's Carousel, construction began on the world's largest Desert Dome, Zoo hosted a temporary Komodo Dragon exhibit

In 1998, the zoo opened Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains, followed by Red Ape RainForest in 2000, the Komodo Dragon Exhibit, the Winnick Family Children Zoo in 2001, the Entry Plaza, Children's Discovery Center and Sea Lion Cliffs ( now Sea Life Cliffs ) in 2005, Campo Gorilla Reserve in November 2007, Elephants of Asia in the winter of 2010, and the LAIR ( Living Amphibians, Invertebrates, and Reptiles ) in 2012.

Since privatization the Birmingham Zoo has hosted traveling exhibits of bats, koalas and black-footed penguins, added a permanent Komodo dragon exhibit and interactive lorikeet aviary, and regained AZA accreditation.

Komodo dragon in Ragunan Zoo