Types Of Dragons

Cruel, vile, cunning and majestic—dragons possess all these attributes and much more.  Though we have seen them in comic strips, cartoon channels and movies, the question as to what is a dragon still persists in the minds of many. A dragon can be defined as a terrifying monster, resembling a gigantic reptile, breathing out fire and possessing enormous lion’s claws, wings and scaly skin. Dragons were of different types, maintaining a balance between good and evil. This is evident from the fact that dragons were perceived as benevolent in the East, while they were regarded as evil, destructive and devil creatures in the West. Given here are some kinds of dragons that you would be interested to know about. Read on to discover them.

 

 

Often assumed to be dubbed from ‘winged wurms’ or ‘wyverns’, amphiptere dragons are actually a separate race all together. They do not have any limbs; instead, they only possess wings. While most amphipteres are presumed to have feather-wings, a good number are known to have bat wings as well. According to Mexican mythology, a famous amphiptere, Quetzalcoatl, is considered to fly overhead and appear as a shimmering serpent.

 

Drakes are one of the most rarely heard dragon species. Similar to western dragons in looks, drakes have four legs and no wings. Though they differ in types, they are generally fire-bearing creatures. While some drakes are extremely serpentile having long, skinny bodies stretching out wide and long, others have comparatively thicker bodies.

 

Eastern Dragon  

Unlike the Western dragons which were hated, Eastern dragons are highly respected and are considered to be a symbol of balance. Each Eastern dragon has a total number of 117 scales with a specific balance of yin and yang scales. Though Eastern dragons tend to be bossy, they possess wonderful leadership qualities and have a lot of charisma. Thus, they are one amongst the twelve zodiac signs and people even prefer having their kids in the Year of the Dragon.

 

As a common belief, hydra first appeared in Greek mythology. It is a serpentile creature bearing multiple heads. Further, hydras are often associated with the popular stories of Jason and Hercules. Presently, the hydra is depicted as a kind of western-style dragon with multiple heads and/or tails.

 

Lindorms were the discovery of Marco Polo during his venture across Central Asia. They are extremely speedy yet highly deadly. Sometimes known as Lindworms, lindorms are also a kind of serpentile creature with two legs and no wings. They, generally, have long tails and shorter legs which serve as arms rather than perches.

 

Long, serpent-snakes that live in fresh or salt water are known as sea serpents. They have long, steering tails but no limbs. There are some sea serpents that have webbed limbs, while some have wings, but are useless in water. These creatures existed during the 1400s when man attempted to reach India. These were often mistaken to be large squids, pieces of kelp, and even dinosaur species like Basilosaurus.

 

The very term dragon is usually thought to be a Western dragon. A large reptilian beast, the Western dragon has bat wings and four legs. It has two fore legs and two hind legs and is capable of walking on all four legs. Additionally, it can sit upright on its hunches and make use of its fore legs. These huge creatures are highly decorated with crocodile-shaped heads, elaborate ears, spines down the back, and thick rudder tails.