News Animals

Komodo dragon teeth get their strength from an iron coat

The layer may help reinforce tips and serrated edges used for ripping into flesh

Two komodo dragons walk to the right along a gravel path, with water and trees in the background. One komodo dragon has its head raised and mouth open.

Komodo dragons, native to Indonesia, are the biggest living lizards in the world. The fearsome predators’ sharp teeth are coated in a thin layer of iron, a new study finds.

USO/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

Komodo dragon teeth are ironclad. Literally.

The serrated edges and tips of the reptiles’ razor-sharp chompers are lined with a layer of iron, researchers report July 24 in Nature Ecology & Evolution.