by Catherine Giordano
A dragon has the characteristics of many other animals.
Head
The head is fierce-some with a very strong jaw and long
sharp teeth. It looks something like a crocodile. The dragon has two fangs in
its upper jaw and two fangs in its lower jaw.
A dragon has two horns at the top of its head. On some dragons, the horns point backwards which
makes them useful for grooming. With other
dragons, the horns point forward and can be used to attack.
It has a long massive neck that allows the head to be upright
even when the dragon walks on all four legs. It is somewhat like a horse in
this regard, but the neck is longer relative to the body size. The neck often
has a sort of ruff going down from the back of the head to the body. This ruff has sharp spikes protruding from
it.
Dragons have huge brains which accounts for their
intelligence and cunning.
Body
Dragons have the massive body and legs of a large land beast,
similar to a lion, although they are much larger than any of the jungle cats.
A dragon’s body is
covered with hard scales like a snake. The scales overlap protecting the body
like a suit of armor. The scales increase in number and grow in size as a
dragon gets larger; a dragon does not shed its skin like a snake. A dragon’s skin is very thick and tough.
The body of some types of dragons has regularly-spaced
spikes that protrude from the body.
A dragon has huge wings that spring from its back. The wings
are like those of a bat. The wings have a skeletal frame like fingers. The
finger tips end sharp claws.
A dragon’s bones are hollow and thus very light and its
muscles are very strong, so it can fly with ease. Dragons can soar for hours with little
effort.
Tail
A dragon has a long tail similar to that of a lizard. It
uses its tail to steady itself in flight or to propel itself in water. The tail
like the body has regularly-placed spikes making the tail ideal to be used as a
weapon.
Feet
A dragon’s feet have three or four toes facing forward. One
toe faces outward to the side allowing it to operate like a human thumb. It can
use its foot to perch as a bird does, but it can also grasp objects with its
toes. The toe nails are sharp claws.
A dragon’s bones are very light and its muscles are very
strong so it can fly with ease. Dragons
can soar for hours with little effort.
Senses
Dragons have exceptionally good sight. They can see in the
dark. They even have “blind-sight” which means they can see with their eyes
closed. They also have exception good sense of smell. Their sense of hearing
and taste is similar to that of humans. Their sense of touch is poor because of
their thick skin, scales and clawed feet.
Dragons can speak. They
have no difficulty speaking human languages, although among themselves, they
prefer to speak Latin or the local dragon language.
Organs
The most amazing body organ of a dragon is its fundamentum. It is located just below the heart. The dragon’s
blood passes through this organ before going to the other organs. Chemicals made in this organ pass to the
lungs which is what allows the dragon to breathe fire.
Unlike reptiles dragons are warm-blooded and can control
their internal body temperatures. This
allows them to survive in many climates and be active both day and night.
Shape-Shifting
Some dragons can shape-shift into human form, but dragon
biologists do not yet understand how they do this.
Here are some more posts about dragons that I think you will like.
