Real Dragons? |
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The Circle of the Dragon > Theories > Real Dragons?
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These creatures are all strange, flying species that seem to remind me much of dragons. Flying lizards? In a way, they are "flying". Why include these pages? Well, real animals severly impacted the world's mythologies. Take a look at the Greek mythology and the horse, for instance.
Image below © John Sullivan 
Common Flying DragonScientific Name: Draco volans Alternative Name: Common Gliding Lizard Location: Southeast Asia History: This lizard's name is a misnomer, as the creature cannot fly. Instead, this lizard glides with the use of a wide flap of skin called the patagium, which is supported by elongated ribs.1 They can, however, travel great distances during their glide, roughly five meters for every meter they descend.2 When not in flight, these creatures can simply fold their wings like a fan and appear somewhat more like normal lizards. Males have a yellow skin flap under their throats which they flap during mating season to attract females.3 Females have a blue colored one, which has black speckles on it.4 The Common Flying Dragon species claims territory in the wild, with the males usually having one to three trees of his own territory. In each of these trees, one to three females usually dwell.5 Here, the lizards dwell, waiting for passing insects to eat. Most commonly, they eat ants.6 They climb in trees and do not fly in wind or rain.7 This species can be kept as a pet, but it is recomended that their home is large and well lit, with plenty of places for them to "hide".8 Physical Description: Usually, these lizards grow no larger than seven to eight inches, or roughly twenty centimeters.9 Their heads are slightly blunted and short, while they possess five clawed toes.10 Komodo DragonScientific Name: Varanus komodoensis Location: Southern Indonesian Islands History: The Komodo Dragon is the largest lizard in the world, spanning up to over ten feet in length.11 Most males only grow to be around nine feet while females are usually seven or so feet.12 A large male can weight over five hundred pounds after a large meal!13 Although they are dangerous predators, they usually eat already-dead meat, as they are partly scavangers.14 These creatures can reach the speed of most dogs for short distances, but they seldom need to chase their prey, for their saliva is quite deadly. No, it is not a poison; instead, it is highly bacteria-filled, which leads the biten creature to eventually die of infection (usually only one to three days later).15 Their diet consists entirely of meat, although the animals this meat comes from varies greatly.16 Sometimes adult Komodos will eat younger Komodos, or they'll fish in a surf to catch fish, as they are reported to be great swimmers.17 Pigs, deer, birds, water buffalo, rats, and just about anything they can kill and eat serve as a tasty treat.18 When a young Komodo first hatches, it only weighs about one-fourth of a pound. In order to survive to a later age, these dragons climb and inhabit trees, eating mostly insects. Since the older dragons cannot climb due to their size, the younger dragons are safe in the trees.19 When they hit the age of four, they generally are too large for the trees and are ready to fare against their elders, although they are the last of the dragons to feet upon a newly fallen meal.20 Interestingly enough, the Komodo's teeth are shaped much more like a shark's than that of a lizard's, which is one more reason why they are a top predator.21 These dragons use their teeth to devour up to eighty percent of their own body weight, which enables them to go without another meal for days.22 Komodos in the wild, if not eaten while young, can live up to fifty years.23 Physical Description: This is a huge lizard that grows to about ten feet, and it has a long, forked tounge along with powerful claws. Being that they can be more than two hundred pounds, they are a formidable preditor. Paradise Tree SnakeScientific Name: Chrysopelea paradisi Location: Mainly Singapore, Thailand History: The Paradise Tree Snake is not usually aggressive, although it is poisonius.24 This snake inhabits forests, mangroves, and even some urban areas; however, these snakes are excellent climbers and prefer trees.25 In order to glide, the creature allows itself to become concave and thus move from tree to tree.26 Physical Description: They can be green, silver-greyish, brown, but usually have a lot of black to them. Some snakes have a bit of red, too. They grow to over forty-five inches long.27 Kuhl's Flying GeckoScientific Name: Ptychozoon kuhli Location: Asia - Thailand, Malaya, Nicobars, Borneo, Sumatra, Java History: For the most part, these are like most Geckos. People own them like pets, and they feed them Crickets, locust (not large ones, mind you), and waxworms. They are primarily noctornal and present owners with a challenge. They are very hard to find and keep.28 Physical Description:
This particular type of Gecko can grow to be about six to seven inches. They have webbed feet, flanks on their cheeks, and their tails are thickened with frills. When these are stretched out, the creature is capable of gliding.29 Scientific Name: Chrysopelea pelias Location: South and Southeast Asia (Singapore, Borneo, Thailand to Malaysia, Riau, Java) History: Many believe that these snakes are rare or endangered, as they are hard to find in their native land.30 They climb trees by using the bark, meaning they use the irregularity of the surface to climb. Though they are mildly posionous, they have back-fangs.31 As a relative to Paradise Tree Snake, it is believed to "fly" in a similar manner. It makes its body concave, allowing it to glide to local trees.32 Scientists believe that this snake feeds on lizards.33 Physical Description: As the smallest of the flying snakes, Twin-barred Tree Snakes can only grow up to about two feet, or thirty inches, in length. They have reddish markings and white markings on their backs.34 Black-bearded Flying LizardScientific Name: Draco melanopogon Location: Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Southern Thailand, Borneo, other Indonesian Islands History: These lizards are also refered to as "Black-beared Gliding Lizards", which do just that. They live in rainforests mostly, and can be seen floating from tree to tree. They utalize their patagium in order to glide, thus earing their name as "flying" lizards.35 The creature can glide for a substanial distance, about five meters for every one meter of decent.36 Small insects, such as ants and termites, comprise its diet. The female lizard lays only two eggs in each clutch.37 Physical Description: Usually green, these small lizards have elogated ribs that aid in their flight. Males have a territorial display, either a pouch on their throat or gular flag.38 Concluding NotesThings that I would like to note are these creature's similarities with famous dragons. For instance, the Komodo Dragon has a forked tounge, a common trait among dragons. Furthermore, a bit can kill its prey, due to the fact that there is much bacteria in it; however, some dragons have been said to have 'poisonius' bites. The other dragons on this page so far, such as the Flying Gecko, all had the ability to glide. Their names are misleading, of course, as gliding is no where near the ability to fly. The most common trait amoung dragons is the ability to fly or glide. Flying snakes, geckos, and lizards would obviously be a strange thing for people to see, even those local to their inhabitance. This may or may not be the root of some stories in mythology.
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