Dinosaurs

All species of dinosaur is officially extinct on Earth. Tales creep through the halls of scholars of individuals & groups accidentally discovering of small regional pockets of such creatures still alive, but proof is another thing entirely. Most societies that discover the remains of such creatures view them with a lost time, and the remains of creatures such as dragons.

Civilization and Culture

History

Dinosaurs, or Dinosauria, were a clade of reptiles that appeared 245 million years ago on Earth. By 66 million years ago (mya) the last surviving species virtually died out. Coming in many different forms, they ranged from the size of chickens & turkeys to gargantuan sizes. They were the dominant animals for millions of years, and at least two extinction events happened during the period they lived. One was 203 mya and one about 66mya. The latter was caused by a massive Asteroid hitting the Earth at the time causing the Earth to be blanked in ash, and only the smaller organisms to survive. one of which was early mammals who went on to become dominant.
Many cultures have found the remains of dinosaurs from their fossils. Some, like the Chinese, are suspected of believing them to be dragon remains. There is a ring of truth as dragons existed on Earth for millions of years before. There is speculation, that there were less dragons at this time and they would have feasted on dinosaurs, especially the larger subspecies. Chances are that many of the ancient & mythic dragons hidden away in their lairs remember this time, and may in part to be blamed for their downfall. Since the dragons are predatory animals themselves, when the extinction event happened, the dragons would have hastened the end of dinosaurs by eating many of the remnants then settling down hidden away, and hibernating until conditions were better.
A few traders & explorers have reported that some societies use the powdered 'bones' of dinosaurs as  form of traditional medicine, while others give it to their shamans for use. Some of these same travellers, especially explorers have also came out with strange stories of some distant tribes saying that creatures fitting the description of dinosaurs still inhabit unexplored regions near them. At the same time some have stated they have found their way into unexplored regions where creatures fitting descriptions of dinosaurs still roam. Whether this is real or not, is hard to prove either way. Only by bringing the carcass of one, or better yet, a live one back is the only way to definitively prove it.

"I swear I saw one of them. I mean it!!! We were making our way some village in India, and took a wrong turn. We wandered down a steep ravine expecting the village to be at the end, and thought it odd that there were these huge odd bones in the rocky sides of it. When we came out, we realised we were wrong all right. A valley was there filled with jungle, and after we made our way hacking through the undergrowth, we got a shock. A clearing was there, and the remains of a huge monstrosity lay on it's side. Long tail ?& neck, legs as thick as an oak tree, and something else. Hunched over it was a massive biped with thick skin, and a head with a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. It turned the head & checked us out, but turned back again, and kept eating the carcass. That's when we turned and fled."
Stefan Goldberg, explorer & trader out of Aachen.

EXTINCT