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Re: 'Virgin birth' dragon Flora becomes a mum and dad



Eh, no it's the bacteria in the saliva. There are 15
strains documented, and at least 4 of those are
virulent. Mix that with the tropical heat, and you
have a recipe for septicemia. Ora "venom" is far too
weak to do any real long term damage on its own.

I seem to have misread the Toxicofera papers, then. (Would explain why nobody has noticed all the venom so far.)


Can you cite a reference for fifteen?

Was on TV, probably originally a BBC production...

Can you cite a reference for ANY ectotherm that will
track dying prey for fifteen days?

Aren't they more likely than endotherms to have that much patience?

Not that it matters much anyway. The news report is
dead wrong with this scenario. Komodo dragons are NOT
bite and release hunters. All releases are purely
accidental. The septicemia acts only as a backup; much
like with lynx and caribou (who do tend to die from
the septic bites at around 15 days).

Thought so.