History of the Komodo Dragon

I think I will do this post on the history of the Komodo Dragon. Well everyone comes from somewhere and so do these animals, so give me a half decent answer why I shouldn't?






The creature that the Komodo Dragon evolved from originated in Asia, about 40 million years ago. They then migrated to Australia. The connection between South-East Asia and Australia allowed the lizards to settle in the modern day islands in Indonesia. The modern day Komodo Dragon evolved from its ancestors about 4 million years ago. The Komodo Dragons became isolated in their area when the sea level rose, cutting them off from the mainland.

Komodo Dragons were first heard of in Europe in the early 20th century. These were rumours of a land crocodile. They became well known in about 1912 when a man called Peter Ouwens wrote a paper about them, when he saw a photograph of them. Later, the Komodo dragon was the main reason an expedition was led to Komodo by W. D. Burden. He collected 12 preserved Komodos and 2 live ones. Some of them can still be seen in The American Museum of Natural History. Burden was the one who also came up with the name ''Komodo Dragon''.