Komodo dragons, known for their large size and dangerous bite, have always seemed like creatures from a legend. Now, scientists have discovered something new and amazing about them.
Their teeth have a special coating of iron. The coating keeps their teeth quite sharp. This discovery is unprecedented in the animal world. Scientists call it “a striking and previously overlooked predatory adaptation in the Komodo dragon.”
Researchers found the special coating when they spotted an orange color on the tips and edges of Komodo dragons’ teeth. When they looked more closely, they found that the enamel was rich in iron. This iron makes the teeth especially hard and strong, which helps the dragons tear apart their prey.
Komodo dragons are the largest living lizards
Komodo dragons are the largest lizards in the world. They can grow over three meters long and weigh around 175 pounds (80kg). These lizards live on several Indonesian islands. They eat just about any type of prey from small birds to large animals such as water buffalo and even other Komodo dragons.
Moreover, they have also attacked humans. In 2007, a child on Komodo Island died after being bitten by a lizard there. Two years later, a fruit picker on the same island was killed by two Komodo dragons after falling from a tree. In 2010, another worker barely escaped after hitting a Komodo dragon, which then let go of him.
Up close and personal with the iron-coated teeth of the Komodo dragon <3 pic.twitter.com/yXig4mAMVh
— Aaron LeBlanc (@AaronLeBlanc6) July 24, 2024
Indonesian authorities considered banning tourists from the island. They worried visitors were affecting the dragons’ mating habits and taming them by feeding them. Komodo dragons are also at risk of extinction. Their homes are being destroyed, and they are hunted illegally. Only about 3,500 of these lizards are left in the wild, as reported by The Guardian.
Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth
In a recent study, researchers at King’s College London used advanced imaging and various analytical methods to examine teeth from Komodo dragons and other reptiles, including monitor lizards, crocodiles, alligators, and dinosaurs.
They found that Komodo dragon teeth had a noticeable iron coating. Similar iron-rich layers were also found on the teeth of other reptiles. Aaron LeBlanc, a dental biosciences lecturer at King’s College and lead author of the study, said, “It looks like it could be a really overlooked but widespread feature of reptile teeth.”
Komodo dragons have curved, serrated teeth similar to those of meat-eating dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex. In a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Aaron LeBlanc and his team aimed to learn more about how dinosaurs might have used their teeth.
They found a strong iron coating on many living reptiles’ teeth but did not find this coating on dinosaur fossils. The researchers believe iron might still have been present in dinosaurs’ teeth, but it could have disappeared over time.
