From ConPlanet
| Dragon | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Infraphylum: | Gnathostomata |
| Superclass: | Tetrapoda |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Subclass: | Diapsida |
| Order: | Avichepala |
| Family: | Coelurosauravidae |
| Subfamily: | Dracidae |
Dragons are a small group of great lizards, with only 7 species, ranging across all Latelen as well as most oceanic island chains. Different types of dragons includes swimming, flying and even fire-breathing species. According to the archaeological evidence and DNA researches, dragons probably originated no later than 200 million years ago.
Contents |
Phisiology and behaviour
Vision, including color vision, is particularly well developed in most dragons, and most communicate with body language or bright colors on their bodies as well as with pheromones.
Size
Size greatly varies between species, from the domestic dragon to the aquatic dragon. Species of domestic dragons grow to an adult size of just 1 metre (3.3 ft) to 1.5 metres (5 ft). Larger species can reach over 6.2 metres (20 ft) long (11.5 metres - 38 ft including the tail) and weigh well over 1,820 kilograms (4,000 lb). Dragons show pronounced sexual dimorphism with females growing much larger and more rapidly than males. Despite their large adult size, dragons start their life at around 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long. The largest species is the aquatic dragon, found in the ??? Bay, Vaenon Bay, throughout Maismarkic sea, and in the surrounding waters.
Age
There is no reliable way of measuring dragon age, although several techniques are used to derive a reasonable guess. The most common method is to measure lamellar growth rings in bones and teeth—each ring corresponds to a change in growth rate which typically occurs once a year between dry and wet seasons. Bearing these inaccuracies in mind, the oldest dragons appear to be the largest species. The mountain dragon is estimated to live around 70 years on average, and there is limited evidence that some individuals may exceed 100 years.
Hydrogen production
Sometime in the evolutionary development of dragons, they succeeded in harnessing their natural gut bacteria in two unique ways, flight and fire. Many animals possess in their guts active bacteria which aid in the digestion of food. The bacteria inside the dragon's gut produces hydrogen. The hydrogen produced in the gut is then transferred into the internal bladders.
Flight
Some dragon species have evolved with several characteristics typical of flight. The honeycomb structure of their bones allows them to be light, while retaining their strength. Huge hearts are also typical of flight, as chest muscles would need vast amounts of oxygen-rich blood in order to move the large wings. Although they possess large wings, just under 20 feet (6.2 m), the wing-span/weight ratio of dragons is not enough for the wings to give enough lift.
Dragons overcame this by utilizing two internal bladders. Fully inflated, these bladders had a combined volume of 30 cubic feet (0.85 m3). The bladders, when filled with hydrogen and methane; both of which are lighter than air, provide the extra lift needed to get the dragon off the ground. Simple calculation, however, shows that 30 cubic feet (0.85 m3) of hydrogen at atmospheric pressure gives a lift of about 1,008 kg (2.22 lb.), only a small fraction of what is needed.
Fire breathing
As well as the flight bladders being used as buoyancy aids, they also double as fuel stores for the fire that dragons are famous for breathing. The hydrogen and methane combine with oxygen in the presence of platinum, as a catalyst, and combust. The inside of dragons mouths are armor-plated and it has a false palate in its throat to stop backdraft.
Because of the dual use of the bladders, the more fire a dragon breathes, the shorter the distance it can fly.
Reproduction and courtship
Female dragons come into season for one month every year. They will only mate once every seven years. As dragons are naturally attracted to shiny objects, a female may use this for attracting a mate. When a male and female dragon prepare to mate, they begin a frightful courtship ritual: they fly to a great height, lock talons and free-fall, only releasing each other at the last moment. Once successful in mating, a female will build a nest of rocks and lay a clutch of two eggs.
Dragon embryos do not possess sex chromosomes, and the sex of the offspring is determined by the temperature of the egg, lower temperatures producing females and higher temperatures, males. The shells of dragons' eggs have heat-resistant properties, enabling them to withstand the intense heat generated from the dragons' fire, without which the chicks would die. The female ensures the eggs are kept from falling below the critical temperature, 60° Fahrenheit, by using her fire to incubate the eggs. Dragons possess special sensors in their tongues which allow them to check the temperature of the nest.
Territory
In order to create fire, dragons need access to plentiful supplies of platinum. Because of this necessity, dragons always ensure that they establish their territory in areas which have rocks rich in platinum ore.
Evolution and species
Modern dragons descended from a group of aquatic or semiaquatic dragons that occupied coastal swamps approximately 200 million years ago, which gave rise to both aquatic and terrestrial species. Initially, the terrestrial dragons were quadrupedal, running on all fours and unable either to fly or to breathe fire. One species evolved the ability to run bipedally, on its hind legs. This enabled further evolution of the forelegs, which were no longer used for standing or running. These limbs eventually evolved into wings, making flight possible.
Aquatic Dragon
This type of dragons stayed aquatic, specializing more and more in marine food resources — crustaceans, fish, turtles — caught in shallow coastal waters. Adapting to a fully aquatic life, the rudimentary wings became fins and clawed limbs evolved into flippers. To trap fishes easily, their jaws, armed with large numbers of spike-like teeth, became larger and longer over the course of generations.
Forest/River Dragon
Forest or River dragons live in thick woods and next to lakes and rivers. They share the long, sinuous body form of their aquatic brothers, a useful adaptation to moving rapidly through almost impenetrable jungle vegetation. They retain the ability to swim, and in hot weather, or to escape such dangers as forest fires, could still return to rivers.
These forest-living dragons have short wings, and are incapable of true flight. They are, however, capable of prodigious leaps: by curling their body in a plane to make a near-aerofoil shape, producing extra lift from their small wings, and reducing their weight with hydrogen-filled flight bladders like those of the prehistoric dragon, these creatures are able to cover significant aerial distances.
Flying/Mountain Dragon
The flying dragon is also called mountain dragon because in medieval times, it was restricted largely to mountains and other remote habitats. The name is, however, slightly inappropriate since the species was much more widespread in lowland forests and was not restricted to mountains before the pressures of agriculture and a burgeoning human population restricted its habitat.
Mountain dragons have six limbs, a pair of wings in addition to two pairs of legs, with a body relatively short compared with that of the aquatic dragon; however, a shorter body is essential for flight, where a long flexible vertebral column is a disadvantage. The tail is approximately as long as the body, with a razor-sharp arrowhead-shaped structure that could be used as a defensive weapon. A sideswipe from a dragon's tail could sever a man's arm.
Desert Dragon
