Scientists Find Female Komodo Dragons Live Half as Long as Males
Posted on October 17, 2012
Scientists have discovered that Komodo dragons live half as long as males on average. The scientists believe this is due to the "extreme housework" female Komodo dragons do, which includes building enormous nests and guarding eggs for as long as six months. The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard in the world. They have been known to kill water buffalo, deer, wild boar and even people. A female Komodo dragon is pictured guarding her next in the above photo.
An international team of scientists from University of Melbourne, Australia, Indonesia and Italy studied 400 Komodo dragons for 10 years in their native habitat in eastern Indonesia. They determined that males live to around 60 years of age and reach an average of 160 centimeters (5.24 feet) in length and weigh an average of 65 kg (143 pounds) as adults. Females live an average of 32 years, reach 120 centimeters (3.93 feet) in length and 22 kg (48.5 pounds) on average.
Dr. Tim Jessop, from the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne and a co-author on the study, says the researchers were surprised by the significantly shorter lifespan of the female Komodo Dragon. Jessop said in a release, "The sex-based difference in size appears to be linked to the enormous amounts of energy females invest in producing eggs, building and guarding their nests. The process can take up to six months during which they essentially fast, losing a lot of weight and body condition. Males and females start off at the same size until they reach sexual maturity at around seven years of age. From then on females grow slower, shorter and die younger."
The research was published here in Plos One.