HOME | DD

Description
Another mythological critter, this time the Western Dragon.
As you can see, this guy has nothing to do with the Eastern Dragon, being a reptile and not a fish. I basically took a Komodo Monitor (Varanus Komodoensis), added the wings of a Flying Dragon (Draco Volans), with the 'spikes' of a Green Iguana (Iguana Iguana) and the horns of Dracorex. And there you have it.

Western Dragons can be found in Europe from the southern-most regions of Italy and Greece to the northern-most parts of Germany and England, they live in Africa, in South Asia, and can also be found in Australia. Not America, though. Northern Specimens grow larger than southern ones, by the way. At their largest, they reach the size of a car (without tail), while usually they're about the size of Megalania.
Their next living relatives are monitor lizards, which a Western Dragon shares a lot of commonalities with. They're predators, feeding on prey they ambushed, or carrion if they find it. Adults usually feed on large mammals like deer and boar (and sheep and cattle, making them disliked by farmers), while the young feed mainly on small vertebrates like mice, birds and rabbits.
They usually move about at a slow pace, but can sprint for longer distances at a starting speed.

Most prominent are their wings, which are made of additional ribs that can be spread open to stretch a flying membrane. These ribs are extremely durable, while also light-weight, as is the entire skeletal structure of the dragon to reduce their weight. Additional air sacs reduce their weight further, though they can't fly in the closer sense of the word. They rather glide, jumping off cliffs or trees to escape or travel larger distances. However, the larger they grow, the less often they glide. Additonally, the large surface allows them to heat up quickly in the morning. Dragons also use the brightly colored bottom of their wings and the fan at the end of their tails for communication, which is quite expansive for lizards- consisting of sounds, body motions and various scents.

Western Dragons are diurnal, sleeping in the night in depressions in the ground. The northern specimens hibernate during the winter inside caves and southern specimens retreat in burrows to avoid the heat. Meaning, facing a dragon inside a cave is easy, as they are mostly asleep then.

Male Dragons are usually red, females green. Variations are possible, ranging from yellow to blue and black. Young ones are patterned for camouflage, though they stay with their mothers after hatching until their wings have developed enough for them to glide and escape threats.

All dragons have a wide variety of defensive and offensive abilities: Like monitor lizards, they are venomous, leading the venom through gashes in their lower teeth. Also, coating their teeth are various bacteria, that lead to serious inflamation and gangrene if not treated. Differently to normal monitor lizards however, is the dragon's ability to 'breathe fire'. In truth, they are incapable of producing fire, but they do produce a chemical that is similar to the spray of the Brachininae genus of beetles inside glands situated at their upper jaw. The substances are mixed only upon being sprayed from two openings at their palate, creating an extremely aggressive spray. Through chemical reactions, this spray instantly heats up to a hundred degrees celsius which can scald unprotected skin. The spray is also highly volatile- if spat into an open flame, like a torch, it will combust and turn into a massive flame.

More Monsters:
Eastern Dragon
Mermaid
Werewolf
Wyvern

Description
Another mythological critter, this time the Western Dragon.
As you can see, this guy has nothing to do with the Eastern Dragon, being a reptile and not a fish. I basically took a Komodo Monitor (Varanus Komodoensis), added the wings of a Flying Dragon (Draco Volans), with the 'spikes' of a Green Iguana (Iguana Iguana) and the horns of Dracorex. And there you have it.

Western Dragons can be found in Europe from the southern-most regions of Italy and Greece to the northern-most parts of Germany and England, they live in Africa, in South Asia, and can also be found in Australia. Not America, though. Northern Specimens grow larger than southern ones, by the way. At their largest, they reach the size of a car (without tail), while usually they're about the size of Megalania.
Their next living relatives are monitor lizards, which a Western Dragon shares a lot of commonalities with. They're predators, feeding on prey they ambushed, or carrion if they find it. Adults usually feed on large mammals like deer and boar (and sheep and cattle, making them disliked by farmers), while the young feed mainly on small vertebrates like mice, birds and rabbits.
They usually move about at a slow pace, but can sprint for longer distances at a starting speed.

Most prominent are their wings, which are made of additional ribs that can be spread open to stretch a flying membrane. These ribs are extremely durable, while also light-weight, as is the entire skeletal structure of the dragon to reduce their weight. Additional air sacs reduce their weight further, though they can't fly in the closer sense of the word. They rather glide, jumping off cliffs or trees to escape or travel larger distances. However, the larger they grow, the less often they glide. Additonally, the large surface allows them to heat up quickly in the morning. Dragons also use the brightly colored bottom of their wings and the fan at the end of their tails for communication, which is quite expansive for lizards- consisting of sounds, body motions and various scents.

Western Dragons are diurnal, sleeping in the night in depressions in the ground. The northern specimens hibernate during the winter inside caves and southern specimens retreat in burrows to avoid the heat. Meaning, facing a dragon inside a cave is easy, as they are mostly asleep then.

Male Dragons are usually red, females green. Variations are possible, ranging from yellow to blue and black. Young ones are patterned for camouflage, though they stay with their mothers after hatching until their wings have developed enough for them to glide and escape threats.

All dragons have a wide variety of defensive and offensive abilities: Like monitor lizards, they are venomous, leading the venom through gashes in their lower teeth. Also, coating their teeth are various bacteria, that lead to serious inflamation and gangrene if not treated. Differently to normal monitor lizards however, is the dragon's ability to 'breathe fire'. In truth, they are incapable of producing fire, but they do produce a chemical that is similar to the spray of the Brachininae genus of beetles inside glands situated at their upper jaw. The substances are mixed only upon being sprayed from two openings at their palate, creating an extremely aggressive spray. Through chemical reactions, this spray instantly heats up to a hundred degrees celsius which can scald unprotected skin. The spray is also highly volatile- if spat into an open flame, like a torch, it will combust and turn into a massive flame.

More Monsters:
Eastern Dragon
Mermaid
Werewolf
Wyvern