Komodo dragon collision between Australia and Southeast Asia allowed these larger varanids to move back into what is now the Indonesian archipelago, extending their range as far east as the island of Timor. The Komodo dragon was believed to have differentiated from its Australian ancestors 4 million years ago. However, recent fossil evidence from Queensland suggests the Komodo dragon actually evolved in Australia before spreading to Indonesia. Dramatic lowering of sea level during the last glacial period uncovered extensive stretches of continental shelf that the Komodo dragon colonised, becoming isolated in their present island range as sea levels rose afterwards. Extinct Pliocene
Dragon Island Dragon Island Dragon Island is a privately owned island off the northeast coast of New Zealand's Great Barrier Island, located to the northeast of Auckland. The island provides Harataonga Bay on Great Barrier Island with shelter from easterly and southeasterly winds by blocking the bay from Pacific storms. The island is in relatively calm water, sheltered by the larger Rakitu Island to the north. It was once farmed but is now unpopulated and has reverted to scrub. Dragon Island is also a name sometimes given (quixotically) to a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, a little more than one km