Canadian zoologists from the Toronto Zoo have discovered a surprising similarity between the teeth of Komodo dragons and the teeth of theropods, a family of predatory dinosaurs of the Mesazoic era that included the famous tyrannosaurus. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine PLOS One.
Komodo dragon or Komodo dragon is the largest lizard living on earth. The animal’s body length reaches four meters and its weight reaches 130 kilograms. Komodo dragons successfully hunt horses, bulls and even buffalo.
Scientists collected fallen monitor lizard teeth and compared them to fossils at the Royal Ontario Museum. The team examined the teeth and jaws using histological analysis and computed tomography. Analysis showed that Komodo dragons literally inherited the teeth of their formidable ancestors; It has strongly curved, jagged cutting edges and cores made of dentin (strong tooth tissue).
Another common feature between Mesozoic predators and monitor lizards was their ability to change teeth throughout their lives. Komodo dragons can renew each tooth up to five times.
Lead author Dr. “We are very excited about this discovery because it makes Komodo dragons an ideal living model organism for studying the life history and feeding strategies of extinct theropod dinosaurs,” said Thea Maho.
Paleontologists before I learnedTyrannosaurs had lips.