KEY POINTS:
Its image is of a slavering killer with saliva so toxic that it can kill prey as large as buffalo and wild pigs.
But the Komodo dragon has a surprisingly weak bite and a comparatively lightweight skull.
A team of Australian scientists has now worked out how the dragons are such formidable killing machines despite their physical limitations.
Instead of employing a bone-crunching bite to kill its prey, as a lion or tiger would do, dragons use 60 razor-sharp serrated teeth and powerful neck muscles.
"The Komodo has a featherweight skull and bites like a wimp, but a combination of very clever engineering and wickedly sharp teeth allow it to do serious damage to even buffalo-sized prey," said Dr Stephen Wroe, of the University of New South Wales.
The giant monitor lizards, which inhabit Komodo in central Indonesia as well as several other islands, share the feeding and dental characteristics of dinosaurs, sharks and sabre-toothed cats, Wroe's research team found.
The researchers used a computer-based technique normally employed in the testing of trains and planes to analyse the bite force and feeding mechanics of the predator.
"The Komodo displays a unique hold and pull feeding technique. Its delicate skull differs greatly from most living terrestrial large prey specialists, but it is a precision instrument, beautifully optimised to make the most of its natural cranial and dental properties. [The dragons] applies minimal input from the jaw muscles when killing and butchering prey. But it compensates using a series of actions controlled by its postcranial muscles."
The dragons grow up to 3m long and weigh up to 70kg. They are also known for their highly infectious bites and for parthenogenesis, or the ability to reproduce without mating.
