Are Komodo Dragons the original and best?

Question

Darwin may have found them on the Galapagos Islands, but who wants to bet that they were once found in other parts of the world?

Answer 1

Komodo dragons are the largest of the monitor lizards. They are closely related to the other monitor lizards of Australia and Papua New Guinea where they are called goannas. The largest monitors in Australia are the perenties and the lace monitors which can be up to three metres in length.

Darwin would have seen goannas in his visit to Australia when the Beagle called into Sydney but there were no monitors on the Galapagos Islands.

Answer 2

Komodo Dragons are NOT found on the Galapagos Islands--they are found on the central Indonesian islands around Komodo. The Komodos are an example of island gigantism--they're really over-sized monitor lizards.
Maybe you were thinking of the Marine Iguana, which are only found on the Galapagos?

Answer 3

You appear to be confusing the Marine Iguanas of the Galapagos Islands with the Komodo Dragon which is only found on a handful of Indonesian islands in the Sunda Straits. The Komodo Dragon is an example of a creature whose population has become isolated from others of its species at some point in the past and experienced the phenomenon of "Island Gigantism" (links attached). It is, effectively, an "overgrown" monitor lizard & definitely not a prehistoric relic as you appear to suggest.

Answer 4

Maybe they are found in zoos across the world, the komodo dragon may also be aquire by people illegally through illegal pet trade.