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[ Return to Mythical Dragon Biology ]
Appearance
Most accounts say these dragons are small. Their wings are membranous, like
a bat. The African/Asia versions are drawn with light snake bodies. The European
versions are often drawn as more bulky with thicker bodies.
Lifestyle/Habitat
The African and Asian varieties are described as nocturnal and tree-dwelling. There are reports
of them migrating into Egypt. These dragons are preyed upon by ibises and are especially vulnerable
during the migrations. They are found in Egypt, Arabia, and India.
The European versions are not reported as migrating, and are found in variable habitats.
Skeleton
Herodotus describes seeing the skeletons of winged serpents. He says they
have a spine and ribs like a snake. The wings were bat-like, with no mention of
a wishbone as birds have. It would be likely that the bones are hollow, as bird bones
are. This would lighten the whole dragon considerably.
Physiology
Several sources describe the damage caused of the urine and sweat of the Asian/African
varieties of these dragons. It is said to putrefy human flesh on contact. The urine and
sweat of an average animal contains harmful waste products, such as urea. Possibly these
dragons are eating something poisonous, such as poisonous plant material, and excreting
the poison through urine and sweat.
Alternatively, some species may have developed this as a defence mechanism. Some of
the European lindworms are shown with scorpian-like tails to inject poison. It is
interesting that the poison descriptions do not seem to be based on biting or spitting.
Flight
There are clear accounts of the lighter Asian and African versions flying between trees.
The question is whether this is true powered flight, or simply gliding. Either is possible.
A creature with a light body and good wingspan could be a very efficient glider, able to travel
for long distances. This could easily be mistaken for powered flight.
The small size of the dragons in question also means powered flight is entirely possible.
They could easily evolve to be lighter and have a muscle structure able to flap the wings
for flight. The migration stories would imply power flight (it would be difficult to migrate
by gliding).
This does raise the question of the stockier European varieties. Could all of these fly? It is
interesting that lightly build winger serpents are shown in the air in European art. The stocky,
heavily built ones, are invariably on the ground. It might be that some
species have lost the ability to fly or are simply very clumsy fliers. Among bird species, a
number of larger birds are not good at flying. Some have lost the use of their wings for flight.
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