The Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard in the world. These wild dragons typically weigh about 154 pounds (70 kilograms), but the largest verified specimen reached a length of 10.3 feet (3.13 meters) and weighed 366 pounds (166 kilograms).
The water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) is the second largest lizard in the world, outsized only by the massive Komodo dragon from Indonesia.
Description: The Perentie is Australia's largest lizard. Its body is rich brown with large cream or yellow markings. It has a forked tongue and numerous very sharp, slightly curved teeth. The Perentie also has a strong tail and powerful legs with five, clawed toes.
In the not-too-distant past, a monstrous monitor lizard 10x bigger than a Komodo dragon roamed the Earth, and it may have lived alongside humans. Let's examine the massive reptile known as Megalania (Varanus priscus) and see how large it was when it lived and what drove it to extinction!
The Australian crocodile is the largest living reptile in the world. Also known as the Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile, adults average at 3 to 5 metres in length! In Australia, Estuarine Crocodiles are found in northern coastal areas, including drainages, rivers, estuaries, creeks, swamps, lagoons and billabongs.
Dragon Lizards are some of the most popular sightings in Australia, with most living in dry areas and active during the day. The Frilled Lizard is renowned for its spectacular display of its frill and tendancy to run using only two hind legs, especially when threatened.
Komodo dragons have thrived in the harsh climate of the Indonesian Islands for millions of years. Fossils, from 50,000 years ago, show they used to live in Australia once upon a time! Due to the increasing threats of habitat destruction, poaching and natural disasters, these dragons are considered a vulnerable species.
A crocodile would win a fight against a Komodo dragon. Crocodiles are simply too large and too powerful for a Komodo dragon to fight back against. One likely outcome would be the crocodile waiting for the Komodo dragon in the water and dragging it beneath the waves to suffer a brutal death.
A lion would win a fight against a Komodo dragon. Lions are larger and heavier and have something that the Komodo dragon lacks: the ability to kill their enemy with a single blow.
Due to their very large size, full grown adult Komodo dragons do not have natural predators. However, Komodo dragons are known to be cannibalistic, meaning they have been known to kill and eat each other.
The Monaro grassland earless dragon (Tympanocryptis osbornei or 'Osborne's hidden ear dragon') is one of Australia's rarest reptiles. It is small, weighing between six and nine grams, and has a very short lifespan. It lays only three to six eggs once a year, just under the ground where the sun can warm them.
The perentie (Varanus giganteus) is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia. It is one of the largest living lizards on earth, after the Komodo dragon, Asian water monitor, crocodile monitor, and intersecting by size with the Nile monitor.
Gila monsters are black in colour, with orange or pink stripes, spots and blotches to perfectly camouflage in their arid environment. Gila monsters have a very strong jaw, with venom glands under their lower teeth. Their venom is transferred through grooves in the teeth and is used as a lethal hunting tool.
Attacks on humans are rare, but Komodo dragons have been responsible for several human fatalities, in both the wild and in captivity. According to data from Komodo National Park spanning a 38-year period between 1974 and 2012, there were 24 reported attacks on humans, five of them fatal.
Part of Hall of Reptiles and Amphibians. At 10 feet and 200 pounds, the Komodo dragon is the world's biggest and most powerful lizard alive. Komodo dragons attack deer, goats, pigs, dogs, and occasionally humans.
A silverback gorilla is much too powerful for a Komodo dragon to fend off. A gorilla would beat a Komodo dragon in a fight. Many people believe that Komodo dragons are venomous. While that is true in a sense, they don't have a venom that will paralyze and knock out their prey.
An adult anaconda would win a fight against a Komodo dragon. The Komodo dragon is a highly capable fighter, but it would not be able to deal fatal damage to the anaconda before it was grabbed and crushed. Anacondas can successfully attack crocodiles, creatures that can kill faster than a Komodo dragon.
A bear would beat a Komodo dragon in a fight, but it might get bloody. The problem that Komodo dragons face is that they are very short compared to a bear. For example, if a Komodo dragon approached a grizzly bear, the bear would stand on its legs to appear bigger and scare it away.
A Komodo dragon would win a fight against a king cobra.
Both creatures are ambush predators, but the king cobra must rely on its venom to kill its enemy before it is attacked and killed.
Tigers are far too large, fast, and powerful for a Komodo dragon to overcome. The tiger's claws might not cut as deeply into the lizard's flesh as they would a mammal, but their teeth would sink in far enough to deal serious damage or outright kill the Komodo dragon.
There aren't many animals that can survive a Komodo attack. A human and another Komodo are pretty much the only ones. This endangered animal, down to about 4,000 in the wild, is at the top of the food chain in its habitat [source: Honolulu Zoo].
He identified the new species as the Scawfell Island leaf-tailed gecko, or phyllurus fimbriatus, the study said. The gecko's scientific name, fimbriatus, is Latin for “fringed” and refers to the texture of its tail.
After overseeing the potentially dangerous mating process for both dragon and keeper, seven months of incubation and finally the hatching of the eggs – the Australian Reptile Park has become the first zoo in Australia to successfully breed and hatch Komodo dragons.
Murray River, from outback to ocean.