Because of its great size and ferocity, and fire-like tongue, served as the original model for the Chinese dragon, so it is said that the dragon of Komodo. Perhaps this is so, but to the men of science, Varanus Komodonensis is a lizard. It is huge–the largest recorded specimen was more than 3 meters long and weighted over 150 kilos–but it is still a zoologically describable animal. The dragon of Komodo, the largest lizard on earth, is found only on the islands of Komodo, Padar, and Rinca, and parts of western Flores. Locally called Ora, the dragons are most numerous on Komodo, which together with nearby Rinca has been set aside as a National Park. The lizards are one of eastern Indonesia’s biggest tourist attractions, and in recent years, with improved transportation and promotion, Komodo island has turned into minor zoo of gawking tourists. It’s the road to the New Seven Wonders. Until 1911, the scientific world knew nothing of the dragon, when van Hensbrack of the Netherlands Indies Army ‘discovered’ the huge animals. The scientific description of the lizard followed in 1912, when P.A. Ouwens, the curator of the zoological museum of Bogor in Java, described and named the species.[email_link]