Description

This formidable reptile evolved during the Pleistocene, when it likely ranged across mainland Australia and Southeast Asia before rising seas isolated populations on Indonesian islands. Varanus komodoensis is both a predator and scavenger, equipped with serrated teeth, powerful limbs, and a bite rich in pathogenic bacteria and anticoagulants — a lethal combination that allows it to track and overwhelm prey far larger than itself.

Fossil evidence suggests that Komodo dragons once coexisted with now-extinct megafauna such as giant marsupials and pygmy elephants. On Flores, they were apex predators long before humans arrived. They remain the largest extant lizards on Earth — descendants of even larger Australian varanids like Varanus priscus (the 5–6 m Megalania).