Draconic Physiology

All dragons are hexapods, with long bodies, four legs and wings. The forelimbs and wings connect to the rest of the body on a double shoulder at the base of a long neck. The wings are membranous, with the patagia connecting to the body in a line behind the shoulder. They have spinal crests and fin-like external ears, scaled hides and taloned feet. Their wing digits may also carry talons. They have long tails, making up a third to half of their total length.

• Mountain Dragons have long limbs and an upright stance, adapted to perch on ridges and ledges. Their wings are powerful and sturdy, with robust finger bones and thick patagia. The wing shoulders are set significantly back from the forelimbs, and the membranes are anchored to the dragon's body back as far as their hips. Their crests are formed of membranes held on mobile spines allowing them to be raised and lowered in display. Their tails are often spurred or spined and they have large, rugged scales.
• Forest Dragons are long-bodied and slender, with a low stance and relatively short, splayed legs. Their wings are mounted further forward, and are physically more fragile than those of their mountain kin, with multiple joints allowing them to fold up very close to the body. They have short, knobbled crest spines and no membrane, and club- or mace-like tails. Their scales are irregular and rough-textured.
• Aquatic Dragons are serpentine, with short legs and an upright stance. Their wing formation is highly distinctive, with the membranes anchored either to the full length of the hind legs, or even to the length of the tail. Free-tailed aquatic dragons have large tail fins. Their crests are high, with a great deal of lateral flexibility to aid in underwater manouevring. Behind their ear fins an additional pair or trio of lateral fins are the external component of their gills. They have small, smooth scales.
• Desert Dragons have broad bodies and long, splayed limbs. Their wings stand high on their backs like sails, and often anchor as far back as the knees. Their crests are also high. They have short tails relative to their body length, with no notable adornment. Their scales are small, smooth and rounded.
• Swamp Dragons are stocky, with an upright stance and relatively small wings which anchor back to the knees. Their scales are large, with jagged edges. Long, powerful tails are tipped with spines, some of which are venomous. Their crests are loose and mobile, almost like wattles.