Yikes! Why Komodo dragons have a nasty bite

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard on Earth and makes a for deadly predator.

Scientists have been looking at what makes their bite so dangerous and found a special adaptation on their teeth which keeps them razor sharp.

Their teeth have an iron coating around the edge staining them orange and keeping them serrated.

Although it's known that some reptiles have iron in their teeth, it's the first time a coating like this has been seen in any animal.

The slightly orange tinge on the edge of the tooth is the iron coating

Scientists say their findings could help us understand how dinosaurs consumed their food, because the teeth are similar to those of meat-eating dinosaurs.

Lead author, Dr Aaron LeBlanc from King's College London said: “Komodo dragons have curved, serrated teeth to rip and tear their prey just like those of meat-eating dinosaurs.

"We want to use this similarity to learn more about how carnivorous dinosaurs might have eaten and if they used iron in their teeth the same way as the Komodo dragon.

Dr LeBlanc continued: "We found that larger meat-eating dinosaurs, like Tyrannosaurs, did change the structure of the enamel itself on the cutting edges of their teeth.

"So, while Komodo dragons have altered the chemistry of their teeth, some dinosaurs altered the structure of their dental enamel to maintain a sharp cutting edge."

Dr Benjamin Tapley from The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), co-author of the paper added:

"Komodo dragons are sadly endangered, so in addition to strengthening our understanding of how iconic dinosaurs might have lived, this discovery also helps us build a deeper understanding of these amazing reptiles as we work to protect them."