Ages ago, I did a short post on Dragons of the World, where I whizzed around the globe, highlighting the different dragons which lived in various parts of the world. This month, I’m going to delve into more depth on the subject. Starting in my home continent of Europe, and travelling east, we shall look, in more detail, at the various kinds of dragon you can expect to find around the world.
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Mexican Amphithere
All Amphithere’s are feathered dragons, and the Mexican’s are no exception, although they have more scales than other Amphithere’s. Along their body they have scales, with heads, wings, and the tip of the tail covered in feathers. Generally the scales are blue-green, with a pale stomach, and the feather are similar in the winter, but in the summer, prime breeding time, they will turn a golden-yellow colour, sometimes even a little purple comes into the plumage.
Typically around 45 feet long, they have wings but no limbs, although the tongue is extraordinarily long and is used to catch prey mid flight. The tail is also used as a constriction device, and this dragon tends to favour mammals as food, both small and large, from monkeys to llamas. Using both tongue and tail, it is hard to escape from it’s grasp once you are caught.
Although they are named after Mexico, where they were originally found, they have migrated and expanded out into South America. These dragons like the sun and the water, and have a tendency to make their homes in the ruins of jungle cities, such as the Mayan Temples. Often they will make a nest of vines and foliage inside the temple, and then spend a good part of the day sunning themselves on the steps outside. If you wish to spot one of these dragons, then visiting the ruins is likely to produce good results.
Incognito Dragon
As the name might suggest, this dragon is shrouded in mystery. It is probable that it exists, as numerous sightings of some species of dragon which does not fit the profile of the Mexican Amphithere have been made, but there are few concrete details on what it might be.
It has an unknown size, sightings seem to indicate that it has wings, limbs and only one head, it is thought it might be silver or gold, but this could be the colour of the light hitting it (depending on whether it’s day or night). Since it lives in the Americas, it is thought that it is probably a feathered dragon, however no sightings confirm or deny this.
It will definitely have feeding and nesting habits, but we no dragonologist so far has ever made note of what these might be. Remote locations seem likely for a nest, but we just don’t know for sure. It is thought that these dragons are very deadly, hence why there are so few sightings of them. Dragonology is a dangerous profession after all.
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And that’s it! Antartica is also considered a continent, but the only dragons that live there are Frost Dragons, and you can find the post I wrote a while ago on them here.
I hope you enjoyed flying around the world with dragons, and that the end of 2015 is treating you well 🙂 Come back in the new year for new dragon posts!
American dragons, both North and South, are renowned for being feathered dragons, and the Moth Dragon is no different. Predominantly purple in colour, however blue, green and red variations have been noted. They have a long neck, soft spines the length of the body, two wings, but no legs, instead, using a long tail to grip onto branches and their wings are capable of beating so fast that they can hover in place, making them the only dragon able to do so.
The dwarf dragons are commonly bright blue in colour with paler stomachs, and bright red eyes. They don’t rely on camouflage to escape larger predators, but are very quick, nimble, and use large numbers to evade or drive off predators. Dwarf dragons in the wild tend to live in hives of up to several hundred strong, ruled by a single queen. A swarm can be very deadly, since large numbers can easily swarm and overwhelm a target (but they can be distracted by shiny objects, and handle of sequins has been known to work well) but on their own these dragons are seldom dangerous, and are easily tamed and trained as house pets. Although they are prone to biting.
They stand on their two hind legs and have two very short forelimbs, much like a kangaroo, although they stand at 15 to 18 foot high, They have short spines around their head and down their spine, and vestigial wings, which although they cannot fly with, can help them run or bound extraordinary distances, up to 30 feet with one single movement. They come in colours of green or blue, with pale scaled bellies, and, again like the kangaroo, they have a pouch in which they carry their young. Like other dragons, they initially lay eggs, and then deposit the eggs in the pouch, which has a very high temperature for incubation. When they hatch, the baby pushes the shell of the eggs out, and then spends a couple of the pouch as it grows.
They have four limbs, with claw adapted for tree climbing, as they make their lairs in the tops of trees. Whilst they are resident in the tree, they will claw up the bark to make it known to other dragons that they are using this tree. Although these nests are quick and easy to build and can often be changed, especially given the number of forest fires that occur in the outback. The only time a nest will not move is when there are chicks in there, as they do not leave the nest until they are old enough to glide. Interestingly, Tazzy Dragons are some of the only dragons to have live births rather than laying eggs.
Chinese Lungs, no surprise, live in China, although the tend to prefer the eastern and southern part rather than the colder north. You will often find them living or spending time around rivers and lake, since Chinese Lungs have long been associated with beneficial events, and there is little more beneficial to the land than a good rainfall. Because of this, they have a predominately fish diet, although sometimes small to medium sized birds are in there. Unusually, they like cooked food as well, most dragons prefer raw meat.
Less friendly than either the Chinese or the Japanese Lungs, Korean Lungs share the love of hot water of the Japanese, and will nest in hot springs or volcanic waters. They have also been known, if they find an appropriate pool, to heat it up themselves. This also helps with hatching their eggs, since a constant temperature of just boiling water is needed to incubate them properly.
Wyverns are different from European/Western dragons in the number of limbs that they possess. They have a long, lizard like body, wings, but only two legs, the hindlegs, which have powerful claws for grappling and holding onto perches. They are also much longer than European dragons, although don’t stand that much higher – typically 18ft tall, but 50ft or more long. Then tend to come in a variety of green to green/brown colours, and are mostly unadorned on the head, maybe a couple of chin bristles at the most.
The hydra’s most distinctive feature is its multiple heads. Records have the number of heads on one hydra to be anywhere between three and seven, however there are legends which state that they can have many more. The rumour that they grow two heads for every one that drops off appears to be false, however, they hydras go engage in a process called splitting – when the hydra reaches a great age one head will separate from the body, and will grow to become an entirely new hydra, and this is how new hydras are born. However, this process appears to be lengthy, and the head which drops off is very vulnerable until it grows big enough to defend itself, hence why this species has never had a very large population.
Princess of Dragons 