The largest lizard in the world. Komodo dragon - the largest predator lizard The most gigantic lizard

It turns out that in our time you can meet a dragon. This is what the inhabitants of Komodo Island (in Indonesia) call the Komodo dragon, which is the largest lizard in the world. It's not only huge size a lizard, but also a cruel predator that brings fear to the islanders - the dragon can attack not only domestic animals, but also people, and children who are sitting or lying on the ground are especially vulnerable.

Excursion into history

The most big lizard in the world was first discovered by scientists at the beginning of the 20th century - descriptions of the dragon date back to 1912. It was during this time that the Komodo dragon was found on Komodo Island. Actually, the monitor lizard received the name Komodo based on its habitat. Scientists put forward a version that many thousands of years ago, Komodo dragons lived in Australia, and then moved to the islands located nearby. And today the dragon can be found not only on the island of Komodo, but also on the following islands: Flores, Ridge, Padar, Rinca. The number of lizards during the discovery period was small, and today it is only decreasing. Therefore, due to the threat of extinction, Komodo dragons are currently heavily protected and are listed in the Red Book.

Description of the Komodo dragon

Adult monitor lizards can grow more than 3 meters in length, and their weight can be up to 160 kg. However, such large individuals are not found so often - as a rule, the length of these largest lizards in the world is 2 meters. Due to the huge size of Komodo dragons, they have practically no enemies, but this applies to adult lizards, and small monitor lizards become a treat for birds of prey, snakes and even their relatives. Like any lizard, Komodo dragons have a long tail. Their skin color is dark with small spots, but young animals are lighter in color. These giant lizards have powerful jaws and very sharp teeth, because they are predators.

Only one huge head and an incredibly large toothed mouth, from which protrudes a forked long tongue, are capable of plunging any person into indescribable horror. Seeing this animal, you can imagine yourself in a completely different era, when there were such creatures great amount. It's amazing that in our time komodo dragon retained its appearance virtually unchanged.

Distinctive features of the Komodo dragon

The largest lizard in the world, despite its impressive size, can run very fast, albeit over short distances. In addition, she can swim and can even swim to the island next door. Komodo dragon Can perfectly get food from trees, while standing on its hind legs. Young individuals are excellent at climbing trees and spending time on them. a large number of time. This is how young monitor lizards escape from predators that might attack them.

Komodo dragons have excellent hearing and sharp eyesight, but their main sense organ is smell. Dragons have two poisonous glands and deadly saliva, thanks to which they kill their victims and obtain food for themselves.

Lifestyle

At night, Komodo dragons hide in burrows that they make themselves. They go hunting early in the morning. During the day, they also hide from the rays of the scorching sun. They are cold-blooded creatures, so they do not tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations. As a rule, Komodo giant lizards are loners. They live in groups only during the breeding season.

How do they hunt and what do they eat?

Komodo dragons feed on both small and large animals (including domestic ones), mainly eating carrion. Also, dragons, being able to climb trees well, steal birds' eggs. In a hungry year, adults even eat their younger relatives. Thanks to their acute sense of smell, these lizards are able to smell blood at a distance of up to 5 km.

As a rule, monitor lizards hunt for large prey from ambush. When attacking her, they bite the animal and follow her, awaiting her death. Moreover, the monitor lizard is helped more not by the poisonous glands, as previously thought, but by saliva, which contains a large number of pathogenic bacteria. It is these bacteria that, when entering the victim’s blood, lead to its inevitable death. As a result, the monitor lizard's victim loses consciousness and then dies.

Instead of injecting poison, the monitor lizard rubs it into the victim’s wound with one blow. This method of hunting has helped monitor lizards exist for many millennia. With the help of a forked tongue, the Komodo dragon is able to smell carrion from afar and is more likely to rush to a feast in which its other relatives also take part. Moreover, eating meat poisoned by its own saliva does not harm them at all, since monitor lizards have excellent immunity. And the substances released during the decomposition of the monitor lizard’s killed prey only enrich the giant lizard’s oral cavity with new bacteria of a deadly nature.

Danger to humans

There have been cases when the Komodo dragon attacked a person. The bite of this animal is very dangerous for humans, since the inflammatory process begins due to the influence of pathogenic bacteria. Monitor lizards can especially attack small children. However, it is believed that this is only when they confuse their usual food. However, after being bitten by this huge lizard It is important to seek medical attention immediately as the fatality rate is 99 percent.

Not only living people suffer from Komodo dragons, but also the dead - the dragons dig up buried corpses and feed on them. Therefore, today the dead are buried under cast cement slabs.

Offspring

Male monitor lizards fight for their mate every year. The monitor lizard who wins gets a female, who will then lay 20 eggs. For eight months, she will ensure that no one eats the eggs, but the hatched young monitor lizards will be deprived of maternal care. They must take care of their own safety, so they often hide in trees or in shelters. Moreover, they often hide from representatives of their own species, who do not disdain young animals as their food.

Most big lizard The Komodo dragon is rightfully considered. This species was discovered by scientists who, back in early 1912, decided to fully explore the island called Komodo. They were surprised by the size of this creature, so they began to study it. They captured the largest lizards of this species with the help of local aborigines, and carried out careful research to understand how these monsters were able to survive to this day.

Research has shown that these monsters belong to a species of ancient lizards and are cold-blooded creatures. Based on external factors, scientists classified this type of lizard as a monitor lizard. If you consider where exactly these reptiles were found, it is quite understandable why they decided to call them the Komodo dragon.

Lizard sizes

It should be noted that the Komodo dragon can reach quite impressive sizes. The most mature individuals reach 2.8 meters. At the same time, their Weight Limit is about ninety kilograms. Thanks to these dimensions, the Commodian monitor lizard is considered the largest and heaviest lizard on our entire planet. In mid-1937, at an exhibition of unique creatures that took place in Missouri, a specimen of a lizard was presented that reached more than three meters in length. Her weight was one hundred and sixty-six kilograms, which simply could not help but amaze the gray hairs.

Appearance of the Lizard

In appearance, the Commodian monitor resembles a cross between a lizard and a crocodile. He has a rather large mouth, which is simply strewn with sharp teeth. And his thick paws and massive tail really inspire fear in his rivals. In adult lizards, the skin is dark in color with a brown tint. And in younger individuals, the skin has a light shade with bright spots, which can sometimes smoothly turn into stripes.

It is worth noting that males can be larger than females, and they are also characterized by increased aggressiveness, which they very often show towards other males who decide to enter their territory.

Lifestyle

Lizards are diurnal. Like other cold-blooded representatives of their kind, they love to soak up the sun. These huge reptiles live in burrows, the depth of which can sometimes reach five meters. They tear them out with their large paws and thick claws. They even feed on large animals such as deer and even buffalo. From the bite of this lizard, the animal's wound begins to rot, and subsequently it dies.

IN prehistoric times The earth was inhabited by dinosaurs, foot-and-mouth diseases and mammoths. Climate change and evolution have led to their extinction, but recently scientists discovered a monstrous lizard in distant Indonesia, which locals call a dragon.

Amazing discovery

In 1912, a group of scientists exploring Komodo Island in Pacific Ocean, came across a wondrous monster that resembled a lizard in appearance, only of enormous size. Having caught one specimen with the help of Aboriginal hunters, they began to study the “dragon” in earnest.

The monster in fact turned out to be a representative of cold-blooded reptiles. According to its species characteristics, the reptile is classified as a monitor lizard. According to the place where it was found, it was called the Komodo (Komodo) or Indonesian monitor lizard. The average length of a reptile is 2.5-2.8 m, and its weight is up to 90 kg. This is the longest lizard on the planet. It is one of the ten largest animals on the planet. In 1937, at an exhibition in the city of San Lewis in Missouri (USA), a record specimen measuring more than 3 meters long and weighing 166 kg was presented.

Description of appearance

The Komodos “monster” resembles a hybrid of a giant lizard and a crocodile. Him developed jaw full of sharp teeth, short thick legs and a strong tail that equal to length torso. In adults, the color is dark brown with yellow speckles, while in young animals the skin has a brighter shade with light spots, sometimes turning into stripes.

Males are much larger than females, they are also stronger and more aggressive.

The largest lizard, due to its size, seems clumsy, but this is a deceptive impression. On its short legs, it reaches a speed of more than 20 km/h, is jumping, easily rises on its hind legs, leaning on its powerful tail, and swims well over long distances. Young lizards deftly climb trees.

The giant is distinguished by its vigilance, excellent hearing and amazing sense of smell. Its olfactory organs are located on its forked tongue, and thanks to them, the Indonesian monitor lizard can smell prey at a distance of 5 km! This is a kind of record in the animal world.

Studying “dragons,” scientists determined their age potential to be 50 years, although no one has yet met a monitor lizard older than 25 years.

Lifestyle

The largest lizard in the world is diurnal and sleeps at night. Like any cold-blooded animal, it does not tolerate temperature changes well, so it hides in the shade during the day and hunts in the morning and evening. Selects dry and sunny flat terrain or savannas. It lives in burrows up to 5 meters deep, and young foot-and-mouth mosquitoes prefer tree hollows.

These " land crocodiles" - singles. They gather in groups of several individuals only in mating season or while eating carrion together. At the same time, the hierarchy is clearly observed in the pack. Young strong males dominate, while old men, young people and females are pushed into the background.

In its habitat, foot and mouth disease is at the top of the food chain, so it has no enemies, except that very young individuals may be threatened by snakes or large birds of prey.

The victims of the Komodo reptile are large animals such as deer, buffalo, horses, wild boars, and goats. On hungry days, it does not disdain small rodents, birds, frogs, crabs, fish, even insects. There are cases of cannibalism when seasoned monitor lizards eat weaker relatives.

Dangerous predator

How does the longest lizard hunt? Most often she attacks from an ambush, with a strong blow The tail knocks down the victim, breaking its legs, and inflicts a laceration with its teeth. After this it releases the prey. The animal dies itself within a few hours or days from poison and blood poisoning, since the saliva of the largest reptile is teeming with toxic bacteria. In the process of research, scientists identified in its oral cavity 57 different strains, including anthrax. Each of the bacteria in itself is very dangerous, and their bouquet, entering the blood, leaves the victim no chance. After being bitten by a Komodo dragon, death occurs in 99 out of 100 cases.

Giant foot-and-mouth diseases, smelling rot and blood, come running to the feast. They feed mainly on carrion. They very rarely tear apart prey that is still alive. These reptiles are capable of tearing off and swallowing large pieces of meat, in which they are helped by extremely sharp teeth, a powerful jaw and a stretchable stomach-bag.

Interestingly, the pus and infections of a dead animal do not harm monitor lizards, which have incredible immunity. On the contrary, they only enrich the harmful microflora of their oral cavity.

Indonesian predators can also attack people. If you don’t get it within a couple of hours after the bite medical care, then death from sepsis is inevitable. There have been several documented cases of monitor lizards attacking children. It is better for women not to visit the Indonesian islands during their period, as the smell of blood excites the hunting instinct of monitor lizards, which makes them very dangerous.

Reproduction

Sexual maturity in these reptiles occurs very late - only at 9-10 years of age. In July-August, all sexually mature individuals gather together. Since there are 4 times more males in the population than females, mating is preceded by mating fights. The strongest one wins and gets the female.

After mating, she digs a deep hole where she lays 20-25 eggs. The lizard protects the clutch for 8 months. But when the monitor lizards hatch, she immediately leaves them. Cubs survive thanks to a strong natural instinct of self-preservation. They spend most of their time in trees, escaping from enemies, feeding on small animals and bird eggs.

Monitor lizards have such a feature as the ability to lay eggs without prior fertilization. In this case, 100% of the lizards hatch are male.

Dragons also need protection

Unique creatures are distributed over a very narrow range. They are found only on a few Indonesian islands - Komodo, Gili Motang, Flores, Rinca. A total of 5,000 of these giant lizards have been discovered. According to scientists, their numbers are slowly but steadily declining due to the development of the islands by people and poaching. To protect this unique look was created in 1980 National Park"Komodo", where excursions are organized.

The animals are listed in the Red Book; hunting them is prohibited. The law says that even if a reptile attacks a person - an adult or a child, it cannot be killed! The “dragon” must be scared away, then professional huntsmen must be called to find this monster and transport it to the other end of the island.

To control the population of Komodo dragons, a special campaign was carried out, during which all found reptiles had a chip implanted in their hind paw. That's how they were counted. Experts emphasize that the largest lizard in the world will survive only in natural environment, for which it is necessary to limit the settlement of people on the islands.

Reptiles from ( Squamata), which includes more than 10 thousand species. They are found on everyone except . Lizards vary in size from small chameleons to the huge Komodo dragon. They usually walk on all fours. Although, some species do not have limbs and are more like snakes.

Lizards are territorial animals. Males fight among themselves for control of territory, but tolerate the presence of females. Large lizards, such as the Komodo dragon, hunt large animals such as buffalo, while smaller lizards feed on insects.

Below is a list, names, descriptions and photos of the largest living lizards in the world.

Argentine black and white tegu

Argentine black and white tegu ( Salvator merianae), also known as the giant tegu - the most great view lizards from the genus Tegu. Adult males can reach a body length of 120-140 cm. These lizards live in semi-deserts, savannah and tropical forests Central and. Tegus are capable of developing high speeds for short distances. They are one of the few lizards that can regulate their body temperature during the breeding season. They feed on insects, snails, spiders and others.

Striped monitor lizard

Striped monitor lizard, or water monitor ( Varanus salvator) is a lizard species endemic to Southeast and South Asia. These are the most common monitor lizards in Asia. Their range ranges from Northeast India, Sri Lanka, the Malay Peninsula to the islands of Indonesia. Water monitor lizards are large lizards that reach 150-200 cm in length and weigh up to 20 kg or more. They have a muscular body and a powerful tail. The keen sense of smell of the striped monitor lizard helps it identify and overtake prey kilometers away.

Arizona snaketooth

White-throated monitor

White-throated monitor ( Varanus albigularis) - one of largest species lizards in . Found in the southern, eastern and central regions. The average weight of an adult varies from 3 to 5 kg in females and from 6 to 8 kg in males; large males reach 15-17 kg. Body length can reach 150-200 cm. White-throated monitor lizards prefer to live in trees away from water. They are known to be very territorial and will bite, scratch or lash with their powerful tail when threatened. Found in the deserts of South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The habitat consists of gorges and rocky outcrops. The giant monitor lizard prefers hard-to-reach places with minimal human intervention. A large monitor lizard can reach 250 cm in length and weigh 15-20 kg. The diet of these monitor lizards consists of insects, fish, small lizards, rabbits, etc. Larger individuals hunt wombats, dingoes and kangaroos. When threatened, the perenty flees or freezes in place, which is typical for most monitor lizards.

Komodo dragon

Komodo dragon ( Varanus komodoensis) - the largest living lizard in the world; can grow up to 300 cm in length and reach a weight of about 70 kg. It is found in the Indonesian Lesser Sunda Islands such as Komodo, Flores, Padar, Rinca and Gili Motang. Komodo dragons have a long, flat head with a rounded muzzle, a huge, muscular tail, strong legs and scaly skin. They are not afraid to hunt large prey, including deer, wild boar and buffalo. Attacks on people were also reported. Komodo dragon saliva is highly poisonous and one bite is enough to kill a buffalo in less than 12 hours.

In December 1910, the Dutch administration on the island of Java received information from the administrator of the island of Flores (for civil affairs), Stein van Hensbrouck, that there were no people living on the outlying islands of the Lesser Sunda archipelago. known to science giant creatures.

Van Stein's report stated that in the vicinity of Labuan Badi on Flores Island, as well as on nearby Komodo Island, there lives an animal that the local natives call "buaya-darat", which means "earth crocodile".

Komodo dragons are one of the species potentially dangerous to humans, although they are less dangerous than crocodiles or sharks and do not pose a direct danger to adults.

According to local residents, the length of some monsters reaches seven meters, and three- and four-meter buaya-darats are common. The curator of the Butsnzorg Zoological Museum at the Botanical Park of West Java Province, Peter Owen, immediately entered into correspondence with the manager of the island and asked him to organize an expedition in order to obtain a reptile unknown to European science.

This was done, although the first lizard caught was only 2 meters 20 centimeters long. Hensbroek sent her skin and photographs to Owens. In the accompanying note, he said that he would try to catch a larger specimen, although this would not be easy, since the natives were terrified of these monsters. Convinced that the giant reptile was not a myth, the zoological museum sent an animal capture specialist to Flores. As a result, the staff of the zoological museum managed to obtain four specimens of “earthen crocodiles,” two of which were almost three meters long.

In 1912, Peter Owen published an article in the Bulletin of the Botanical Garden about the existence of a new species of reptile, naming a previously unknown spider animal Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens). It later turned out that giant monitor lizards are found not only on Komodo, but also on the small islands of Rytya and Padar, lying to the west of Flores. A careful study of the archives of the Sultanate showed that this animal was mentioned in the archives dating back to 1840.

First World War forced to stop research, and only 12 years later interest in the Komodo dragon resumed. Now the main researchers of the giant reptile are US zoologists. On English language this reptile became known as komodo dragon(comodo dragon). The expedition of Douglas Barden managed to catch a living specimen for the first time in 1926. In addition to two living specimens, Barden also brought 12 stuffed animals to the United States, three of which are on display at the American Museum. natural history in NYC.

RESERVED ISLANDS

Indonesian Komodo National Park National Park), protected by UNESCO, founded in 1980 and includes a group of islands with adjacent warm waters and coral reefs with an area of ​​more than 170 thousand hectares.
The islands of Komodo and Rinca are the largest in the reserve. Of course, the main celebrity of the park is the Komodo dragon. However, many tourists come here to see the unique terrestrial and underwater flora and fauna of Komodo. There are about 100 species of fish here. There are about 260 species of reef corals and 70 species of sponges in the sea.
The national park is also home to animals such as the maned sambar, Asian water buffalo, wild boar, and cynomolgus macaque.

It was Barden who established true dimensions these animals and refuted the myth of seven-meter giants. It turned out that males rarely exceed a length of three meters, and females are much smaller, their length is no more than two meters.

One bite is enough

Many years of research have made it possible to thoroughly study the habits and lifestyle of giant reptiles. It turned out that Komodo dragons, like other cold-blooded animals, are active only from 6 to 10 am and from 3 to 5 pm. They prefer dry, well-sunny areas, and are usually associated with arid plains, savannas and dry tropical forests.

In the hot season (May - October) they often stick to dry river beds with jungle-covered banks. Young animals can climb well and spend a lot of time in trees, where they find food, and in addition, they hide from their adult relatives. Giant monitor lizards are cannibals, and adults, on occasion, will not miss the opportunity to feast on their smaller relatives. As shelter from heat and cold, monitor lizards use burrows 1-5 m long, which they dig with strong paws with long, curved and sharp claws. Tree hollows often serve as shelters for young monitor lizards.

Komodo dragons, despite their size and external clumsiness, are good runners. Over short distances, reptiles can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers, and over long distances their speed is 10 km/h. To reach food at a height (for example, on a tree), monitor lizards can stand on their hind legs, using their tail as a support. Reptiles have good hearing and sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is smell. These reptiles are able to smell carrion or blood at a distance of even 11 kilometers.

Most of the monitor lizard population lives in the western and northern parts of the Flores Islands - about 2000 specimens. On Komodo and Rinca there are approximately 1000 each, and on the smallest islands of the group, Gili Motang and Nusa Koda, there are only 100 individuals.

At the same time, it was noticed that the number of monitor lizards has fallen and individuals are gradually becoming smaller. They say that the decline in the number of wild ungulates on the islands due to poaching is to blame, so monitor lizards are forced to switch to smaller food.

In the photo m A young Komodo dragon near the carcass of an Asian water buffalo. The power of the jaws of monitor lizards is fantastic. Without effort, they open the victim's chest, cutting through the ribs like a huge can opener.

GAD BROTHERHOOD

From modern species Only the Komodo dragon and the crocodile monitor attack prey significantly larger than itself. The crocodile monitor's teeth are very long and almost straight. This is an evolutionary adaptation for successful bird feeding (breaking through dense plumage). They also have serrated edges, and the teeth of the upper and lower jaws can act like scissors, which makes it easier for them to dismember prey in the tree where they spend most life.

Venomtooths are poisonous lizards. Today there are two known types of them - the gila monster and the escorpion. They live primarily in the southwestern United States and Mexico in rocky foothills, semi-deserts and deserts. Toothworts are most active in the spring, when their favorite food, bird eggs, appears. They also feed on insects small lizards and snakes. The poison is produced by the submandibular and sublingual salivary glands and travels through the ducts to the teeth of the lower jaw. When biting, the teeth of the poisonous teeth - long and curved back - enter the body of the victim almost half a centimeter.

The menu of monitor lizards includes a wide variety of animals. They practically eat everything: large insects and their larvae, crabs and storm-washed fish, rodents. And although monitor lizards are born scavengers, they are also active hunters, and often large animals become their prey: wild boars, deer, dogs, domestic and feral goats, and even the largest ungulates of these islands - Asian water buffalos.
Giant monitor lizards do not actively pursue their prey, but more often hide it and grab it when it approaches at close range.

When hunting large animals, reptiles use very intelligent tactics. Adult monitor lizards, emerging from the forest, slowly move towards grazing animals, stopping from time to time and crouching to the ground if they feel that they are attracting their attention. Wild boars They can knock down deer with a blow of their tail, but more often they use their teeth - delivering a single bite to the animal's leg. This is where success lies. After all, now “ biological weapons» Komodo dragon.

Reptiles have good hearing and sharp eyesight, but their most important sense organ is smell.

It has long been believed that the prey is ultimately killed by pathogens found in the monitor lizard's saliva. But in 2009, scientists found that in addition to the “deadly cocktail” of pathogenic bacteria and viruses found in saliva, to which monitor lizards themselves have immunity, reptiles are poisonous.

The Komodo dragon has two venom glands in its lower jaw that produce toxic proteins. When these proteins enter the victim's body, they prevent blood clotting, lower blood pressure, promote muscle paralysis and the development of hypothermia. The whole thing leads the victim to shock or loss of consciousness. The venom gland of Komodo dragons is more primitive than that of poisonous snakes. The gland is located on the lower jaw under the salivary glands, its ducts open at the base of the teeth, and do not exit through special channels in the poisonous teeth, like in snakes.

In the oral cavity, poison and saliva mix with decaying food debris, forming a mixture in which many different deadly bacteria multiply. But this is not what surprised scientists, but the poison delivery system. It turned out to be the most complex of all similar systems in reptiles. Instead of injecting it with one blow with its teeth, like poisonous snakes, monitor lizards have to literally rub it into the wound of the victim, making jerks with their jaws. This evolutionary invention has helped giant monitor lizards survive for thousands of years.

After a successful attack, time begins to work for the reptile, and the hunter is left to follow the heels of the victim all the time. The wound does not heal, the animal becomes weaker every day. After two weeks, even such a large animal as a buffalo has no strength left, its legs give way and it falls. It's time for a feast for the monitor lizard. He slowly approaches the victim and rushes at him. His relatives come running to the smell of blood. In feeding areas, fights often occur between males of equal value. As a rule, they are cruel, but not deadly, as evidenced by the numerous scars on their bodies.

Who is next?

For humans, a huge head covered like a shell, with unkind, unblinking eyes, a toothy gaping mouth, from which protrudes a forked tongue, constantly in motion, a lumpy and folded body of a dark brown color on strong splayed paws with long claws and a massive tail. is the living embodiment of the image of extinct monsters of distant eras. One can only be amazed how such creatures could survive today practically unchanged.

The only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca sizes from 5 to 7 m and weight 650-700 kg

Paleontologists believe that 5-10 million years ago, the ancestors of the Komodo dragon appeared in Australia. This assumption fits well with the fact that the only known representative of large reptiles is Megalania prisca measuring from 5 to 7 m and weighing 650-700 kg was found on this continent. Megalania, and the full name of the monstrous reptile can be translated from Latin language, as a “great ancient vagabond,” preferred, like the Komodo dragon, to settle in grassy savannas and sparse forests, where he hunted mammals, including very large ones, such as diprodonts, various reptiles and birds. These were the largest poisonous creatures that ever existed on Earth.

Fortunately, these animals became extinct, but their place was taken by the Komodo dragon, and now it is these reptiles that attract thousands of people to come to the islands forgotten by time to see natural conditions the last representatives of the ancient world.

Indonesia has 17,504 islands, although these numbers are not definitive. The Indonesian government has set itself the difficult task of conducting a complete audit of all Indonesian islands without exception. And who knows, maybe after its completion there will still be open known to people animals, although not as dangerous as Komodo dragons, but certainly no less amazing!