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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Komodo Dragons Use Venom to Kill

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(Newser) – Australian scientists have discovered that the world’s largest lizard packs a lethal venom in its bite, the Guardian reports. MRI scans of an ailing Komodo dragon revealed venom glands in the mouth that had never before been documented. The dragons’ poison sends victims into shock by triggering a sudden drop in blood pressure, and also prevents blood from clotting—causing the prey to bleed to death.

Komodo dragons, native to several Indonesian islands, can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 110 pounds.
Komodo dragons, native to several Indonesian islands, can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 110 pounds.   (©jonnyr1)
The discovery that the Komodo dragon is venomous leads researchers to believe many other lizards may also pack a poisonous punch.
The discovery that the Komodo dragon is venomous leads researchers to believe many other lizards may also pack a poisonous punch.   (©pareeerica)
The Komodo dragon joins the Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard as the only lizards currently known to be venomous. Their poison is similar to that of a snake.
The Komodo dragon joins the Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard as the only lizards currently known to be venomous. Their poison is similar to that of a snake.   (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
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5 comments
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ClearSight
May 19, 09 5:48 AM CDT
Sounds like those creatures have something in common with progressives. Reply
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-4
shonangreg
May 19, 09 7:37 AM CDT
This is interesting. Click through to the Guardian article. Researchers *had* thought the septic saliva from the Komodo Dragon was what killed its victims -- like some guy who never brushes his teeth and likes eating rotten meat :-( Now it appears there is an older evolutionary origin for poisons in many snakes and lizards and researchers are finding low levels of true venoms in species we long thought were totally non-venomous. Wikipedia has a decent writeup here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxicofera Reply
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TerrifiedCitizen
May 19, 09 1:49 PM CDT
It's amazing to me though that the discovery of venom glands have taken, how many years for science to discover? And the 'theory' of septic saliva was believed by many as fact all this time. How many scientific 'theories' have been accepted as fact by college graduates for years? Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
May 20, 09 4:51 PM CDT
TC. You totally misunderstand what 'theory' is.
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SPH
May 20, 09 5:31 PM CDT
TC is not much for science in general.....
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