Van Hensbroek took the animal to headquarters where measurements were taken. It was approximately 2.1 meters long, with a shape very similar to that of a lizard. More samples were then photographed by Peter A. Ouwens, the Director of the Zoological Museum and Botanical Gardensin Bogor, Java. The records that Ouwens made are the first reliable documentation of details about what is now called the Komodo dragon or Komodo monitor.
Ouwens was keen to obtain additional samples. He recruited hunters who killed two dragons measuring 3.1 meters and 3.35 meters as well as capturing two pups, each measuring less than one meter. Ouwens carried out studies on the samples and concluded that the komodo dragon was not a flamethrower but was a type of monitor lizard. Research results were published in 1912. Ouwens named the giant lizardVaranus komodoensis, more commonly known as a komodo dragon. Realizing the significance of the dragons on Komodo Island as an endangered species, the Dutch government issued a regulation on the protection of komodos on Komodo Island in 1915.
The komodo dragon became something of a living legend. In the decades since the komodo was discovered, various scientific expeditions from a range of countries have carried out field research on the dragons on Komodo Island.
Komodo has been included into the controversial New7Wonders of Nature list since November 11, 2011.Komodo lies between the substantially larger neighboring islands Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east.
The island is famous not only for its heritage of convicts but also for the unique fauna which roam it. The komodo dragon, the world's largest living lizard, takes its name from the island. A type of monitor lizard, it inhabits Komodo Island and some of the smaller surrounding islands, as well as part of western Flores. Javan deer also inhabit the island, though they are not native. Other animals include buffalo, civets, cockatoo and macaques.
Komodo contains a beach with pink sand, one of only seven in the world. The sand appears pink because it is a mixture of white sand and red sand, formed from pieces of Foraminifera.
Ref: http://novithaseunggi.blogspot.com/2012/12/descriptive-text-komodi-island.html?m=1