Little tiny dragons.

I saw this picture of a strange little lizard and I thought you guys might like it, fittingly enough, it's called a Flying Dragon...

Source...
There you go, flying dragons are real, they're just smaller than you expected.

I did a search and couldn't find anything about these little guys on ATS so, here it is...

Draco volans, or the Flying Dragon, is a member of the genus of gliding lizards Draco. It can spread out folds of skin attached to its movable ribs to form "wings" that it uses to glide from tree to tree over distances upwards of 8 meters (25 feet); however, like all modern reptiles, it lacks the ability to sustain powered flight, and is capable only of gliding. Its wings are brightly colored with orange, red and blue spots and stripes, and they provide camouflage when folded. The flying dragon can reach lengths as long as 19 - 23 cm. It feeds on arboreal ants and termites.

Wiki..

I couldn't find anywhere that says whether or not they can breath fire.

reply to post by NotTooHappy


That is really fascinating. My daughter is learning how to illustrate dragons.
We have read most of the Pern series. Could they be the inspiration of lore?

haha wow thats awesome most animals today had larger counterparts long ago maybe dragons were real at one time

I know these guys! I remember learning about their ribs last year in zoology. My advisor is a herpetologist and is a big fan. I think these did come up in a discussion about dragons previously. I don't personally believe the entire dragon myth could come from these guys, but it could play a part perhaps.

If only they could breathe fire... (they can't) they would be so darn cute. They're so cute already.

I knew you would know about these Raven!

I had never heard about them before. I think the wings are best part. I've never seen them on a lizard when they weren't attached to the legs somehow.
Cool little critters though. Maybe they have or had relatives on mainland Asia that helped inspire the legends.

Oh my God, that is just awesome!!!!!! I want one!!!! And here I thought my crested geckos were cool.

Isn't he a little sweetie!
I just love that little Lizard.

As for me - I've NO DOUBT dragons were real.
Maybe even still are - beyond your little friend there.

Now, don't go around telling anyone - but here's my proof.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/65300ed9dd6d.jpg[/atsimg]

All kidding aside, great find and thread - and dragons?
Yes, they existed! They just had to!



peace

[edit on 19-2-2010 by silo13]

Originally posted by silo13

All kidding aside, great find and thread - and dragons?
Yes, they existed! They just had to!

peace

[edit on 19-2-2010 by silo13]

cant tell if your joking or not but please god i hope u r.

This is really nice to see!

Lets hope this stays pretty quiet otherwise before you know their natural habitat will be destroyed and every young teenager will have them in their bedroom because theyre 'cool', and probably feed them fast food leftovers and beer to see what happens.

Phew.. Sorry about that but I hate seeing Marvels of Nature get destroyed puerly because of us.

I can't imagine dragons were ever real in the sense of how they were portrayed (breathing fire and eating virgins and all that nonsense). In order to honestly believe Dragons (in the mythical sense of the word) were ever real you have to detach yourself from reality and ignore rudimentary biology (of which, all things natural are subject to).

But if you also believe the earth is really flat and other nonsense that requires a flying leap of ignorance then yes, I guess dragons could be or were real, lol.

man I feel like a dork for saying this but..

THAT IS SOOOOOOO COOOL!!!!

I want one...or several an army of little dragons..

-B.M

P.S) I wonder if those wing patterns mean something or are for a specific purpose...reminds me of butterflies....wonder if theres any link?

[edit on 19/2/10 by B.Morrison]

Hehe got some of these at home preserved... crazy little critters and you can see where dragons may have originated from.

Ignorethefacts: we didn't exist back in the alleged times of dragons, so who knows if it's true or not... althought you would expect to at least find skeletons.

reply to post by NotTooHappy


What if that is not a little tiny dragon. What if that is a baby dragon?


When it grows up...



Watch out!

reply to post by ravenshadow13


yes i handled these at the zoo, they are great little lizards with amazing ability and they actually have a great personality

OK this little vid can't be embedded so here's a link to the Flying Dragon
Impressive glide ratio of 5 to 1. That gives it a decent escape route from trouble.

OMG I would KILL to have that little guy as a pet. Not kill literally obviously, unless it was killing an uglier lizard - like one that didn't have wings. lol -_^

reply to post by NotTooHappy



THANK YOU.

I LOVE these little guys! Fascinating, special, the stuff dreams and fantasies are made of. ...I do wonder if they had any bigger brothers back when...

they are absolutely beautiful have you got any more information on these little kretters???

reply to post by Silicis n Volvo

Dragons did and still do exist and I'm not joking .

That's exactly what it is... A lizard.