WHO WILL WIN?
Komodo Dragon
HISS-CHOMP
Brachiosaurus
HOOOOONK
THE SETUP

Komodo Dragon vs Brachiosaurus

Komodo Dragon
Komodo Dragon
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus

Pretend they meet in grassland. Dinosaurs lived long ago. Look at the facts. Then you pick.

Would they meet?

No. Komodo Dragon and Brachiosaurus did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

This is pretend and based on facts. Real animals usually hide or leave.

Read the facts. Make your card. The page waits to pick.

Corner A

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis · A walking dinosaur with a chemistry set.

Komodo Dragon
Home
Indonesian islands · Lives in Asia
Food
Meat
Group
Lives alone
Size
Komodo Dragon is medium.

Ambush lizard.

Tongue tastes the air.

Slow-looking predator.

  • Komodo Dragon is medium and not very fast.
  • Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.
  • Hot, dry islands where a giant lizard can own the trail.

Family: Other monitor lizards.

Corner B

Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus altithorax · A living watchtower that ate the upstairs leaves.

Brachiosaurus
Home
Late Jurassic woodlands of western North America · Lived in North America long ago
Food
Plants
Group
Lives in a herd
Size
Brachiosaurus is giant.

Does not hunt.

A watchtower head.

Calm until it steps.

  • Brachiosaurus is giant and slow.
  • High browse: conifers and other tall plants.
  • Late Jurassic North America, sharing the Morrison world with Allosaurus and Stegosaurus.

Family: Other sauropods: Giraffatitan (the African look-alike), Camarasaurus, and the whole long-neck family.

TO SCALE!

SIZE & WEIGHT

Stand them next to a grown-up. Who is bigger and heavier?

1.70 m

Grown-up

0.50 m

Komodo Dragon to scale

Komodo Dragon

12.0 m

Brachiosaurus to scale

Brachiosaurus

Height to scale. A grown-up is 1.7 m.

Komodo Dragon80 kg

Longer than a bike, lower than a coffee table, heavier than a grown-up's suitcase.

Brachiosaurus35,000 kg

Head as high as a four-story building. Heavier than four African elephants stacked in a science dream.

Komodo Dragon

0.50 m · 80 kg

Komodo Dragon is medium. 80 kg.

Brachiosaurus

12.0 m · 35,000 kg

Brachiosaurus is giant. 35,000 kg.

Kilograms are honest. A small animal can still have a strong tool.

Who would you pick for size?

TOOLKIT!

TOOLS

Teeth, claws, horns, venom, kick — what tools do they have?

  • Weapon: Venom-slick bite
  • Armor: Osteoderm chainmail
  • Senses: Tongue tastes the air.

Komodo Dragon · labeled field diagram

  • Weapon: Column legs plus a neck crane
  • Armor: A body the size of a house
  • Senses: A watchtower head.

Brachiosaurus · labeled field diagram

Komodo Dragon600 psi bite
Brachiosaurus80 psi bite

Komodo Dragon

Venom-slick bite

Tool: venom-slick bite. Bite: 600 psi.

Brachiosaurus

Column legs plus a neck crane

Tool: column legs plus a neck crane. Bite: 80 psi.

A bite number is only one tool. Coils and kicks count too.

Whose tools would you trust?

ZOOM!

SPEED

Who gets there first?

Komodo Dragon
20 km/h
Brachiosaurus
10 km/h
Komodo Dragon20 km/h
Brachiosaurus10 km/h

Komodo Dragon

20 km/h

Komodo Dragon can go 20 km/h. That is not very fast.

Brachiosaurus

10 km/h

Brachiosaurus can go 10 km/h. That is slow.

A fast animal can miss. A slow one only has to connect.

Who takes the speed card?

HOME MAP!

HOME

They meet in grassland. Who is built for this place?

N. AmericaS. AmericaEuropeAfricaAsiaAustraliaAntarctica
Komodo DragonBrachiosaurusBoth

Meeting biome: grassland. Colored land is fossil range for dinosaurs and living range for zoo animals.

Komodo Dragon

This is home · Lives in Asia

Komodo Dragon lives in places like grassland.

Brachiosaurus

This is home · Lived in North America long ago

Brachiosaurus lives in places like grassland.

No. Komodo Dragon and Brachiosaurus did not live at the same time. This meeting is pretend.

Who gets the home point?

MENU!

FOOD

How do they get lunch?

Komodo Dragon
Meat · Ambush lizard.
Brachiosaurus
Plants · Does not hunt.

Komodo Dragon

Meat · Ambush lizard.

Deer, pigs, water buffalo, even other dragons.

Brachiosaurus

Plants · Does not hunt.

High browse: conifers and other tall plants.

A plant eater is not 'safe.' Hippos and elephants still end arguments.

Whose hunting or defending helps more?

MOOD!

MOOD

Alone vs team. This rumble is one vs one.

Komodo Dragon
Lives alone
Brachiosaurus
Lives in a herd
Komodo Dragon8 grit /10
Brachiosaurus6 grit /10

Komodo Dragon

Lives alone

Slow-looking predator. Grit: 8/10.

Brachiosaurus

Lives in a herd

Calm until it steps. Grit: 6/10.

Pack and pride animals lose their backup in a 1-v-1.

Who is better for a solo meeting?

PING!

BRAINS

Who notices first and thinks next?

Komodo Dragon
4/10
Brachiosaurus
2/10
Komodo Dragon4 brains /10
Brachiosaurus2 brains /10

Komodo Dragon

4/10

Tongue tastes the air.

Brachiosaurus

2/10

A watchtower head.

In the wild, brains often mean leave before it starts.

Who would you score for noticing?

COUSINS!

FAMILY

Who are they related to?

Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus altithorax

Komodo Dragon

Varanus komodoensis

Other monitor lizards.

Brachiosaurus

Brachiosaurus altithorax

Other sauropods: Giraffatitan (the African look-alike), Camarasaurus, and the whole long-neck family.

Cousins are clues, not a score.

Not a fight point. Who has the wilder family story?

WILD CARD!

SPECIAL

What special move did they evolve?

Komodo Dragon
Patient Island Ambush
Brachiosaurus
Sky-Salad Stomp

Komodo Dragon

Patient Island Ambush

They wait.

Brachiosaurus

Sky-Salad Stomp

It did not need fangs.

A secret move here is a real wild tool, not a video-game combo.

Whose special move would change the meeting?

YOUR SCORECARD

Your scorecard

Tap who has each fact. Then tap who you think wins.

  • SIZE & WEIGHT

  • TOOLS

  • SPEED

  • HOME

  • FOOD

  • MOOD

  • BRAINS

  • SPECIAL

Your card: Komodo Dragon 0 · Brachiosaurus 0 · still open 8

Who wins the meeting?

Keep going for the pretend meeting, then the science pick.

SKREEE!

THEY MEET

Komodo Dragon runs first. Brachiosaurus does not race. They wait in grassland.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

CHOMP!

THE TOOLS SHOW UP

Brachiosaurus is heavier. Komodo Dragon uses venom-slick bite. Nobody is keeping a gore score.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

SNAP!

SPECIAL MOVES

Komodo Dragon tries the Patient Island Ambush. Brachiosaurus tries the Sky-Salad Stomp. Keep your card. The last page is next.

Pretend · fact-based · not a gore-fest

THE SCIENCE PICK

Brachiosaurus!

A STOMP · UNDERDOG

You skipped a final pick. The facts still stamp a champ.

On grassland, Brachiosaurus wins. Brachiosaurus is a lot heavier. Komodo Dragon would still win some meetings at home.

In the wild, most animals skip a fight. We still judge who the bodies and the place would favor.

Science card: Komodo Dragon 4 · Brachiosaurus 1 · ties 3.

Your card: Komodo Dragon 0 · Brachiosaurus 0.

The last page follows the whole animal — body plus home — not one bar chart.

Send this fight

A friend can read the same facts.

Also starring · Komodo Dragon

Dragon walk. Tongue out. Homework done.

Wikimedia Commons · CC. Source

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