General Discussion

So, I've been popping around the forums a bit, and I keep finding:
"Wyverns are a dragon!"
"No they're not!"
So on so forth. and I decided to put my little opinion up here.
{This is only my opinion and only really matters in my books}
So, Western and eastern dragons are the 'true dragons', the others being like dogs and wolves. But this only applies if people get what a wyvern, amphiptere, or wyrm is. So, let's dive into basic biology.
Eastern dragon:
-four legs
-can use magic

Western dragon:
-four legs two wings
-can use magic
-Breath attack is biological (No magic involved)

Wyvern:
-two legs two wings
-poison barbed tail
-no magic

wyrm:
-no legs
-can use magic
-snakelike

drake:
-four legs
-no wings
-can use magic

amphiptere:
-two wings
-can use magic

Now that that's done, I'm just going to give an example of what I believe the classification would look like.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Diptera
Family: Draconis
Genus: Draco Major
Species: Western Dragon
Obviously, this is the classification for a dragon. And here's a Wyvern's
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Diptera
Family: Draconis
Genus: Wyvera
Species: Wyvern
Although, keep in mind, that these are mythical creatures. I just wish that we had something like this to separate everything neatly. That is why this is here.

@FlameAriiDraycon

¯\_(c:)_/¯ Dragons are myths so people can pretty much classify them however they want. Though if your dragon has NO draconic traits (which is pretty hard, they're so common in myth they have a lot of traits) it's look a bit silly.

Personally I find half the fun is coming up with your own classification. Here's my headcannons!

Dragon: Four legs, two wings (leathery), can breath fire biologically. Have skin not scales, short necks and legs and are pretty streamlined. Built for flight. No horns. Maybe ears or frills that flatten to the back of the head (like toothless's ear...thingies). Intelligence of an orca. About the size of a horse.

Drakes: Four legs, no wings. Have thick, bulky scales. Biiiig horns, no ears. Not very intelligent. Built like a lion. Can use 'magic' though very basic. Lay eggs. Size of an elephant.

Wyverns: Two legs, two wings (leathery). Not super intelligent either. Covered in medium size scales, are reptiles. Prey on fish mostly. Long snouts. Bigger than an elephant but not as bulky. No horns, but frills running down the back that they can flatten.

Wyrms: Not thought about these ones tbh. Either no legs snake lookin thing or maybe just a name for 'dragon looking thingies'

I like your dragon taxonomy, mine would be different cause I don't see them as in the same super class as some have more limbs than others, and some are reptiles while the dragons are mammals.

Well, dragons aren't mammals, per se. they still lay eggs. and most don't have hair. so they're mostly Kind of in between because they also produce their own body heat.

[quote name="FlameAriiDraycon" date="2019-01-23 15:06:13" ] Well, dragons aren't mammals, per se. they still lay eggs. and most don't have hair. so they're mostly Kind of in between because they also produce their own body heat. [/quote] Are yours reptiles? Most people seem to go with reptiles but I personally prefer mammals, I don't mind sacrificing the egg laying ability.

[quote name="MurkyDepths" date="2019-01-23 15:13:30" ] [quote name="FlameAriiDraycon" date="2019-01-23 15:06:13" ] Well, dragons aren't mammals, per se. they still lay eggs. and most don't have hair. so they're mostly Kind of in between because they also produce their own body heat. [/quote] Are yours reptiles? Most people seem to go with reptiles but I personally prefer mammals, I don't mind sacrificing the egg laying ability. [/quote] Wglhat about synapsids? Those are basically proto-mammals, while still being reptilian. Also, you can't tell me this isn't a dragon: [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Inostrancevia_DB.jpg[/img]

[quote name="Xionahri" date="2019-01-23 15:22:11" ] [quote name="MurkyDepths" date="2019-01-23 15:13:30" ] [quote name="FlameAriiDraycon" date="2019-01-23 15:06:13" ] Well, dragons aren't mammals, per se. they still lay eggs. and most don't have hair. so they're mostly Kind of in between because they also produce their own body heat. [/quote] Are yours reptiles? Most people seem to go with reptiles but I personally prefer mammals, I don't mind sacrificing the egg laying ability. [/quote] Wglhat about synapsids? Those are basically proto-mammals, while still being reptilian. [/quote] Eh, you have the problem of 6 limbs. :/ Unless you want to alter the wings so they're not a proper flexible wing, 6 limb dragons can't come from any of the current super classes. You'd have to go back further in phylums. A six limbed dragon would have had to evolve separately from fish. Early synapsids do have some really good traits of in between reptiles n mammals though...hmm. Gorgonopsids are some of my favourite creatures too *eyes*

[quote name="MurkyDepths" date="2019-01-23 15:24:57" ] [quote name="Xionahri" date="2019-01-23 15:22:11" ] [quote name="MurkyDepths" date="2019-01-23 15:13:30" ] [quote name="FlameAriiDraycon" date="2019-01-23 15:06:13" ] Well, dragons aren't mammals, per se. they still lay eggs. and most don't have hair. so they're mostly Kind of in between because they also produce their own body heat. [/quote] Are yours reptiles? Most people seem to go with reptiles but I personally prefer mammals, I don't mind sacrificing the egg laying ability. [/quote] Wglhat about synapsids? Those are basically proto-mammals, while still being reptilian. [/quote] Eh, you have the problem of 6 limbs. :/ Unless you want to alter the wings so they're not a proper flexible wing, 6 limb dragons can't come from any of the current super classes. You'd have to go back further in phylums. A six limbed dragon would have had to evolve separately from fish. [/quote] True, but it doesn't have to be from our universe. Maybe they are from an alternate one, where six limbs are the default, and four-limbed beings are similar seen as snakes to us.

tbh i just use this chart [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/360186562136375296/369936715248304128/image.png[/img] i'm too lazy to go very in-depth with things

In my opinion, Dragons come from a dimension where six-limbed are the norm, muscles are more condensed and Dragons are just odd reptiles...so yeah.

...Nether kirins nor cockatrices are dragons...that is one of my pet peeves.

Also, one more thing I thought of. In most medieval art, four-legged dragons either entirely lack wings or have fin-like wings. Maybe they aren't limbs at all, but more akin the the ribs of a [i]Draco volans[/i]. Here's what I mean: [img]https://www.fulcrumgallery.com/product-images/P696640-10/medieval-dragon-ii.jpg[/img]