Subspecies: Dragonus

"The dragon is the terror of land and sky. Their size is rivaled only by the Mountain Drake, their colors all shades of the rainbow. From their throats they rain fire upon unsuspecting villages for fun and swallow their prey whole." - The Big Book of Legends for Children and Laymen

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Dragonus is a hybrid of drake and wyvern. Like a drake, Dragonus are quadrupeds with digigrade wyvern like back legs and hand like claws ending their forelimbs. They stand on average between 7 and 10 feet tall at the shoulders with varying neck lengths. They weigh between 1,700 and 2,100 pounds. Their scales provide a natural protective barrier to predators, but are not as thick as their drake counterparts. They come in a wide array of dual colored scales, the majority of the scale being their primary color with the root of the scale having their secondary color. They have thick barrel like chests with larger muscle mass to accommodate the wings on their backs. They are capable of short flights of between one and three hours before tiring. They have a long tail of medium thickness that acts as a rudder in flight; they lack the barbs of their wyvern ancestry.

Biological Traits

Females tend to be larger with darker colorations. They weigh more than the males. Males are smaller and brighter colored with thicker muscle structure.

Genetics and Reproduction

Female Dragonus follow a typical estrus cycle, entering their reporductive phase once every two to three years for approximately a month. Being in her reproductive phase does not mean she is receptive to mating. Dragonus females are far more picky about their mates than other dragon species, preferring other Dragonus, Wyverns, Wyrms, or Lung dragons.
Males will put on a display to attract the attention of the female, offer gifts, and provide food for her. With winged species, she will engage in a game of aerial tag to evaluate his abilities in the sky. Should she accept her winged mate, they will lock claws and begin a plumet to the earth, breaking away before they hit the ground to recover. If the male is unable to accomplish the task before breaking away, he will be chased away as an unsuitable mate. For non winged species, the female will engage in a game of cat and mouse. Once she is satisfied with her mate's tenacity and cunning to avoid her for a suitable amount of time, she will accept him and pin him under her to mate. Attempts to mate by force often end up with the male dead or shunned by the females of the community. 
Like Wyverns and most species of Drake, Dragonus mate for life. The female will begin building a shared nest while the male is charged with providing food. Gestation lasts for four months before laying up to three eggs. Parents will take turns guarding and incubating the eggs. After six months, the eggs will hatch.

Growth Rate & Stages

Hatchlings have a soft and supple hide with soft and flexible scales that are pale gray or white in color. It is extremely vulnerable for the first day of it's life and relies upon it's parents for all basic needs and protection. Their wings often remain folded, the membrane still under developed. After a few days, the scales harden, providing a modicum of protection against their natural predators. One parent will still be present at all times with the hatchlings despite this.
At a year of age, their scales begin to take on a pale, pastel like sheen of color. They shed every two to three months as they grow. They become more active at this age, play fighting with their siblings. Their claws are still soft and unable to cause harm. At the age of three, they are considered Dragonets. Their color is bright and vibrant, claws hardening, yet their wing membrane still bound. By age six, they are considered Fledgelings. Their wings unfurl and are taught to fly by their parents. From there, they are taught to hunt and forage. Dragonus reach adulthood at ten years of age, but do not leave the nest until they are sexually mature at 16 years of age. They will spend this time gaining experience tending to themselves and younger siblings, learning the ways of the world, and everything they need to know to thrive as an adult.

Ecology and Habitats

Dragonus thrive in mountainous areas surrounded by vegetation . They nest within caves, often taking over an abandoned Mountain Drake cave.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Dragonus are omnivorous, primarily existing on a diet of vegetation supplemented with meat and bone of small animals.

Biological Cycle

Dragonus shed their scales once every six months by utilizing cavern walls or claws. They are the most likely of species to complain that it is an itchy and tedious process.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Dragonus are highly sociable species and create large colonies. They will take turns with babysitting each other's offspring, hunting for each other, providing and tending to the wounded or ill, and in general take care of one another. No one leads these communes typically, the group preferring to do things democratically.

Facial characteristics

Dragonus have a triangular head with front facing eyes.

Average Intelligence

Like other species, Dragonus possess an 'average' intelligence comparable to humans with a great capacity for intellectual growth. Dragonus are clever hunters and puzzle solvers, making excellent hearders and planners.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Dragonus are in tune with the electromagnetic fields of the weather and earth, able to sense when a storm or shift in seismic activity is about to occur. They have excellent eyesight in normal and low light conditions from their wyvern ancestry, but lack the dark vision of their drake ancestry. Dragonus, like most dragons, are capable of magic.

Civilization and Culture

History

Dragonus are a unique subsecies to the Dragon species, often referred to by humanoid races as "Dragons" themselves. They once held the largest communes in the world, though they often clashed in terms of ideals. Before the events ofAtlor's Judgement, they were often the most likely to hold humans as pets or experiment with cross breeding humans and spur on their evolution.
Once Atlor'd Judgement was unleashed, they felt the blows the hardest for their crimes. Many communes were utterly destroyed by the dwarves, forcing the Dragonus to abandon cities and their eggs and offspring, seeking shelter where Dwarves could not harry them. 
Unknown to the few escapees, many eggs and young offspring were kept alive and taught better than their parents, leading to the wild and reclusive Dragonus that are hidden away today.

Scientific Name

Drakanus Minora

Origin/Ancestry

Drake, Wyvern

Lifespan

60-80 years

Conservation Status

Thought to be legends, a handful of these creatures was discovered in 1236 AH. The two adults of the species perished, leaving a single juvenile and a trio of eggs behind in the care of the expedition force that discovered them.

Average Height

7'3'' at the shoulder

Average Weight

1700 lbs

Average Length

10-15 feet