Komodo Dragon

The komodo has been visualised using thermal infrared which allows us to see thermal energy or radiation more commonly referred to as heat. Thermal Infrared is found within the Infrared region on the electromagnetic spectrum. The different colours in the images represent different levels of thermal energy being emitted from an object. The imaging technology has been successfully used in animal studies to observe thermoregulation, their environment and behaviour, their population and habitat. The komodo are a vulnerable species due to the poaching of their main food source. Originally they were native to Indonesia where they inhabited tropical monsoon forest, palm savannah and grasslands. They are the largest of the known living lizards growing up to 3 metres and weighing up to 80kg. It has been reported that parthenogenesis has taken place within komodos at some english zoos. This was astonishing as the asexual method of reproduction is rare among vertebrates. In this image the komodo uses their forked tongue to gather chemical information from the air and when it withdraws its tongue, these chemicals transfer onto the pads on the floor of the mouth, this is referred to as vomero-nasal sense.