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Here is the 66th page of my Explorer's Notebook for the Animal of the Month Event at : the Komodo Dragon!!!

I think this is, with the Platypus and the Axolotl, one of the most unusual and amazing creatures I've ever drawn!! Like you might have guessed, Komodo Dragons live on the Komodo Island and on some nearby islands of Indonesia. Their status is vulnerable, but Indonesia seems to have a really great program and National Parks to portect these amazing reptiles.
They're the biggest extant lizard, and have been around for 900'000 years -at least- in their current shape, biology and size. They eat meat (fesh and carrion), hunt in groups, which is unique in the reptile world, and they have glands that secrete an anticoagulant, along with very sharp teeth, making them a very effective killing machine... They don't have molars to chew however, so they tear some meat with their sharp teeth, then raise their heads and swallow in one gulp... one must have a very strong stomach to do that!
Their skin is very special, because it starts smooth and leathery when they're young, just like most reptiles, then becomes more and more bone-like in structure, so they sort of develop their own armor as they age! These special skin cells made of tiny bones are called osteoderms, just in case you fancy reading more about this...
And now, well, you're thinking: "that's true, Moony, they're amazing, but this description is quite long and I'm tired because of New Year's party or whatever, and maybe you can conclude"... but I can't, because I haven't told you about their most amazing trait, the Parthenogenesis! In short, this is an ability to give birth without a male Komodo Dragon! If a female lands on, say, an island where there are no other Komodo Dragons, she can lay eggs without any male fertilizing them, but the eggs will hatch all the same, giving birth to male Komodo Dragons, thus allowing "normal" reproduction afterwards... totally amazing, isn't it??
Thank you if you've read this until the end, I really wanted to share with you some of the interesting facts about these amazing creatures

You can learn more about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_d…

made with:
Faber Castell Pitt black markers
Various colored pencils

Last "Animals of the Month":

Description
Here is the 66th page of my Explorer's Notebook for the Animal of the Month Event at : the Komodo Dragon!!!

I think this is, with the Platypus and the Axolotl, one of the most unusual and amazing creatures I've ever drawn!! Like you might have guessed, Komodo Dragons live on the Komodo Island and on some nearby islands of Indonesia. Their status is vulnerable, but Indonesia seems to have a really great program and National Parks to portect these amazing reptiles.
They're the biggest extant lizard, and have been around for 900'000 years -at least- in their current shape, biology and size. They eat meat (fesh and carrion), hunt in groups, which is unique in the reptile world, and they have glands that secrete an anticoagulant, along with very sharp teeth, making them a very effective killing machine... They don't have molars to chew however, so they tear some meat with their sharp teeth, then raise their heads and swallow in one gulp... one must have a very strong stomach to do that!
Their skin is very special, because it starts smooth and leathery when they're young, just like most reptiles, then becomes more and more bone-like in structure, so they sort of develop their own armor as they age! These special skin cells made of tiny bones are called osteoderms, just in case you fancy reading more about this...
And now, well, you're thinking: "that's true, Moony, they're amazing, but this description is quite long and I'm tired because of New Year's party or whatever, and maybe you can conclude"... but I can't, because I haven't told you about their most amazing trait, the Parthenogenesis! In short, this is an ability to give birth without a male Komodo Dragon! If a female lands on, say, an island where there are no other Komodo Dragons, she can lay eggs without any male fertilizing them, but the eggs will hatch all the same, giving birth to male Komodo Dragons, thus allowing "normal" reproduction afterwards... totally amazing, isn't it??
Thank you if you've read this until the end, I really wanted to share with you some of the interesting facts about these amazing creatures

You can learn more about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_d…

made with:
Faber Castell Pitt black markers
Various colored pencils

Last "Animals of the Month":