The Metal Plating on Komodo Dragon Teeth Makes Them Different From Most Metal Lizards

If you need another reason to stay out of your house, just know that bloodthirsty reptiles that are known to eat people also have teeth lined with metal.

Some brave researchers at King’s College London found this identification of Komodo dragons, which can grow to over 10 meters (3 meters) and 360 pounds (163 kilograms). The researchers examined the skulls and teeth of specimens kept in museums, as well as the mouth of a living Komodo kept in a London zoo.

After examining the teeth, the researchers found that they are not only bent and twisted, helping to tear through the flesh, but also include an unusual orange line. Closer examination of the discoloration revealed that it was the result of a thin metal coat. They estimate that the metal is a protective layer that helps the teeth retain their sharp edge. The team then looked at tooth samples from other members of the monitor lizard family and found that some of them, too, contained metal.

Findings, report in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, was the result of a happy accident. Scientists weren’t studying Komodo dragon teeth to freak out or help fuel nightmares (although they undoubtedly succeeded in that goal), but to gain insight into the eating habits of predators such as Tyrannosaurs, which had similarly shaped teeth. The unexpected discovery of metal in the teeth of the Komodo dragon is now prompting the team to investigate whether this feature was present in dinosaurs.

“We want to use this similarity to learn more about how carnivorous dinosaurs may have eaten and if they used metal in their teeth in the same way as the Komodo dragon,” said Aaron LeBlanc, a lecturer in dental science at King’s College London who worked on a study on a Press release.

However, as dinosaur teeth become fossilized, their chemical composition changes, making it impossible—or at least not possible yet—to see if metal was ever present in their teeth. However, some similarities between the chompers of Komodo dragons and tyrannosaurs are found.

“Large carnivorous dinosaurs, like tyrannosaurs, changed the structure of the enamel on the edges of their teeth,” LeBlanc said. So, while Komodo dragons have changed the chemistry of their teeth, other dinosaurs changed the structure of their tooth enamel to maintain a sharp edge.”

LeBlanc hasn’t given up hope, though. With further study, new methods may be devised to detect other signs of metal in the Komodo dragon’s teeth. Those methods, in turn, could be used to search for metal in dinosaur teeth and bones.

If all this scares you, it may comfort you that Komodo dragon attacks on humans are rare, although they do happen. absolutely brutal. More confirmation that they are, indeed, the most metallic of all living lizards.