In many societies and nation states, there are local legends regarding dragons. With St David’s Day on 1st March, the Welsh dragon is currently particularly apparent as it is sported on flags and clothing displayed by various Welsh students around Reading. Research shows that China is the origin for all the world’s mythical dragons and, through trading and conquest, the powerful symbol of the dragon was carried across the globe. When people saw dinosaur bones emerging from early excavations in China (1000 BC), they believed that they were the remains of dragons, thus introducing the concept of this fiery beast. Nowadays, we know that dragons are figments of the imagination and great stories for young children rather than real creatures. Or are they? At present, scientists have found five dragons naturally occurring in the world. They may be more than these, residing in more remote areas such as Papua New Guinea, where one species has already been identified.
Along the southeast coast of Papua New Guinea, resides the Papuan monitor – a close relative of the Komodo dragon. These ‘dragons’ have been hunted and killed for centuries by local tribesmen who believe that they are spirits who walk upright, climb trees, kill men, sense the presence of crocodiles and breathe fire. Unlike other lizards, the Papuan monitor can pressurise the air in its throat, enabling it to raise its head and inhale at any given moment, and thus it is one of the only lizards in the world which can run and breathe simultaneously, giving the impression of being able to walk upright in the process. With a strong prehensile tail, it is an expert at climbing trees and has been known to use its tail in self-defence, killing both animal and human predators. With an acute sense of hearing, it can easily detect the presence of crocodiles and alert others through a warning call. Its bite can be extremely venomous and can cause infections and fatalities with its long, fang-like, upper teeth.
Nearby, on the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia lives the world’s largest species of lizard, the Komodo dragon. As this is the only species on the islands which eat dead carcasses, birds, invertebrates and small mammals and reside on the dry, sandy beaches and coastal forests, they face no competition for either their diet or habitat and can thus experience island gigantism, growing up to 3 metres in length and weighing 70 kilograms. Young dragons shelter in trees, avoiding cannibalistic adults for their first five years. With poor eyesight and limited hearing, it is important for them to use their tongues to detect food, smell threats and navigate in the dark. They must also use their powerful forelimbs, claws and venomous bites in self defence.
Further south, the bearded dragon lives in arid, rocky, semi-desert regions and dry open woodlands of Australia. It prefers to live near human habitation as it is a scavenger; as it is very friendly and tame around people, it makes a popular pet. When necessary, it can raise spiny scales arranged in rows and clusters around its throat in self-defence giving itself the appearance of a veloceraptor from the neck upwards. Like a chameleon, it changes colour to appear more intimidating and threatening in shows of male dominance or in self-defence. As it has no vocal chords, it tends to use a hand-waving gesture for communication, and hisses when it feels particularly threatened.
The weedy sea dragon is found in water 3-50 metres deep around the southern coast of Australia. It is one of the brightest and most colourful marine fish in the world, is similar to the seahorse, and is one of three species of animals in the world in which the male carries the eggs. The female deposits the fertilised eggs directly after mating on a spongy patch of skin underneath the male’s tail where they are incubated for eight weeks until hatching. They are named after the weed-like projections of skin on their body that camouflages them in their natural habitats by giving them the appearance of drifting weeds or floating seaweed. They feed on plankton found in reef crevices which they suck out with their long snouts.
Whilst both the weedy sea dragon and the mythical Chinese dragon have tapering and red bodies, the Chinese water dragon, which is found throughout China and the Indochinese Peninsula, has a squat, green body with a colourful throat and a tail which makes up 70% of their total length. These dragons are diurnal and live on trees in warm, moist climates, though they will submerge themselves for up to 25 minutes in nearby lakes and streams when they feel threatened. They are unique in that they have a small, photosensitive spot between their eyes which is thought to help regulate their core body temperature as it detects differences in light and water temperature.
Now you know the truth behind dragons, you will now know that whilst you are unlikely to be toasted alive by a great, fire-breathing beast, you may just find a tame dragon on a future holiday so stay alert.
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