New research conducted at Diamond gives an insight into how Komodo dragons keep their teeth razor-sharp and may provide clues to how carnivorous dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus rex killed and ate their prey
One of the coolest animals on the planet, just got cooler.
If Komodo dragons weren’t fascinating enough already, it is now understood that the largest living predatory lizards have iron-clad teeth.
This new finding, discovered as part of studies on Diamond’s I18 and B16 beamlines, explains why their serrated, blade-shaped teeth can stay sharp and lethal through their lifetime. Looking into the teeth characteristics of these “living fossils” may provide new ways to learn about the eating habits of carnivorous dinosaurs, which haven’t been previously available.
A research team from King’s College London, led by Dr Aaron LeBlanc, aimed to discover what made the teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs so effective at cutting. They used Komodo dragons, the largest living lizards with small, blade-shaped teeth, as a modern comparison. The serrated teeth of Komodo make them a useful animal to study when trying to understand how the teeth of carnivorous dinosaurs. Dr LeBlanc’s team also looked at other serrated edged teeth from beavers, crocodiles and other reptiles.
Advanced imaging revealed the teeth have a unique adaptation: orange, iron-enriched coatings on the serrations and tips, which help maintain their cutting edges.
Iron teeth aren’t unique to reptiles – there are other animals with iron-infused enamel – but in Komodo dragons, the iron is concentrated along the cutting edges and tips of their teeth, staining them orange. This protective layer keeps the serrated edges of their teeth sharp and undamaged. On their teeth, iron is concentrated into a distinct coating of ferrihydrite, a type of iron oxide which bonds to crystalline structure of the enamel.
This discovery is surprising because Komodo dragons have very thin enamel layers (only 15-20 micrometres thick) and they replace their teeth quite frequently. Typically, such thin enamel and rapid tooth replacement wouldn’t be expected to have such a distinct and durable iron coating.
Dr LeBlanc, lecturer in Dental Biosciences at King’s College London, said:
Komodo dragons have curved, serrated teeth to rip and tear their prey just like those of meat-eating dinosaurs. We want to use this similarity to learn more about how carnivorous dinosaurs might have eaten and if they used iron in their teeth the same way as the Komodo dragon.
Unfortunately, using the technology we have at the moment, we can’t see whether fossilised dinosaur teeth had high levels of iron or not. We think that the chemical changes which take place during the fossilisation process obscure how much iron was present to start with.
With further analysis of the Komodo teeth we may be able to find other markers in the iron coating that aren’t changed during fossilisation. With markers like that, we would know with certainty whether dinosaurs also had iron-coated teeth and have a greater understanding of these ferocious predators.
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