[permalink] [id link]
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.
from
Wikipedia
Some Related Sentences
Komodo and dragon
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 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
Komodo and was
They are protected under Indonesian law, and a national park, Komodo National Park, was founded to aid protection efforts.
As a result of the discovery, the previous theory that bacteria were responsible for the deaths of Komodo victims was disputed.
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.
Later, the Komodo dragon was the driving factor for an expedition to Komodo Island by W. Douglas Burden in 1926.
It was also Burden who coined the common name " Komodo dragon.
At around this time, an expedition was planned in which a long-term study of the Komodo dragon would be undertaken.
This task was given to the Auffenberg family, who stayed on Komodo Island for 11 months in 1969.
To address these concerns, the Komodo National Park was founded in 1980 to protect Komodo dragon populations on islands including Komodo, Rinca, and Padar.
It is widely assumed that the Komodo dragon died out on Padar after a strong decline of the populations of large ungulate prey, for which poaching was most likely responsible.
The first Komodo dragon was exhibited in 1934 at the National Zoo in Washington, D. C., but it lived for only two years.
More attempts to exhibit Komodo dragons were made, but the lifespan of these creatures was very short, averaging five years in the National Zoological Park.
Bronstein was bitten on his bare foot, as the keeper had told him to take off his white shoes and socks, which the keeper stated could potentially excite the Komodo dragon as they were the same color as the white rats the zoo fed the dragon.
One such reptile that was previously thought of as being nonvenomous is the Komodo Dragon, Varanus komodoensis.
It was then demonstrated through magnetic resonance imaging that the Komodo Dragon possess a mandibular gland with a major posterior compartment and 5 smaller anterior compartments.
The studio's head of production, Merian C. Cooper, had recommended the cancellation of O ' Brien's project as he thought the story was boring but he was impressed by the effects work and saw how it could be used to facilitate the development of his own pet project about a giant gorilla battling Komodo dragons.
Komodo and be
However, recent research suggests that the large size of Komodo dragons may be better understood as representative of a relict population of very large varanid lizards that once lived across Indonesia and Australia, most of which, along with other megafauna, died out after the Pleistocene.
With the help of a favorable wind and its habit of swinging its head from side to side as it walks, Komodo dragons may be able to detect carrion from away.
He noted that while these pathogens can be found in the mouths of wild Komodo dragons, they disappear from the mouths of captive animals, due to a cleaner diet and the use of antibiotics.
Even if the lizards have venomlike proteins in their mouths, Schwenk argues, they may be using them for a different function, and he doubts that venom is necessary to explain the effect of a Komodo dragon bite, arguing that shock and blood loss are the primary factors.
Komodo dragons may be monogamous and form " pair bonds ", a rare behavior for lizards.
The research from the Auffenberg expedition would prove to be enormously influential in raising Komodo dragons in captivity.
The Gila Monster ( Heloderma suspectum ), the beaded lizard ( Heloderma horridum ), Komodo dragons ( and other Varanids ) are also known to be venomous.
Indonesian forces launched a massive air and sea invasion, known as Operasi Seroja, or ' Operation Komodo ', almost entirely using US-supplied equipment even if Kissinger feared this would be revealed to the public.
At this time the islands of Komodo and Flores were joined, leaving a 12 mile wide strait to be crossed with Komodo visible from the mainland.
The said limitations further affected the game's roster of playable characters ; Polar and Pura were originally to ride in the same kart and be played as a single character, but were ultimately split into separate characters, and both Komodo Brothers were to appear in the game before Komodo Moe was omitted.
and Roy Mackal regard the Buru to be a large Komodo dragon-like monitor lizard, and there are fossils of such a creature to be found in the Indian subcontinent.
The term appeared on the Lenox Globe around the east coast of Asia, and might be related to the Komodo dragons in the Indonesian islands, tales of which were quite common throughout East Asia.
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.
In particular, the Komodo dragon can be brought into Australia as a replacement for its extinct relative, Megalania, " the largest goanna of all time ".
0.184 seconds.