And now we come onto the dragons that we know exist for sure! Although there are quite a few lizards that resemble dragons, these two examples which follow are the closet thing that we have to those mythical beasts.

baby-dragon-1Common Flying Dragon, Draco Volans

A species of lizard that lives in Southeast Asia, is a member of the genus Draco, which are gliding lizards. It spreads out folds of skin which are attached to its movable ribs to form “wings” that it can use to glide from tree to tree over distances of over 8 metres. However, it can only glide, not sustain its own flight.

It is brightly coloured with orange, red and blue spots and stripes, which do provide camouflage when it folds it wings. It can reach 23 centimetres in length and feeds on small insects, such as ants and termites.

Komodo Dragon, Varanas Komodensis

Dragon-Komodo-Komodo-Indo-AR-535Is the largest living species of lizard, growing up to maximum length of 3 metres in rare cases and weighing up to approx 70kg. They live in the Indonesian islands, including Komodo which is where they got their name from.

Because of their size, they dominate the ecosystem on the islands on which they live. They hunt and ambush prey including invertebrates, birds and mammals, and they seem to have a preference for deer. They have a terrible bite, and it is disputed whether it is venomous or not, but it is certainly not something you want to be on the receiving end of, and they have occasionally been known to attack humans.

Komodo dragons hatch eggs, like other reptiles, and the young live in trees to be more safe from predators which could eat the venerable young. They take 8-9 years to mature and live to around 30 years old.