Crested Puffpoison

Crested puffpoisons are medium sized air element dragons from various islands on Dracosei. They are one of many poisonous species, as implied by their names. Commonly hunted by the underground people of Etrea, their tough skin is used for armour.

Basic Information

Anatomy

These dragons have a tubby body, with a long neck and long tail. Their scales are primarily a light yellow, but with striped black and purple ones on their bellies. Their hind legs are large, and can be used to kick others, while their front arms are pathetically short, ending in a single talon. Their wings sit above their front arms, with a short thumb and long fingers. Their wingskin is thin, a yellow with an purple outer border between each finger, and black scales on their fingers.
Crested puffpoison heads are small, but most obvious is their incredibly large crest on their head. The crest stick upwards, then fans out about triple the length of its own head. The crest is hollow, and is used for a number of things: attracting mates, the larger the crest the better, conserving heat, absorbing rays from the Sun, and to scare off predators, making them look larger than they are.
Their eyes are positioned right on the tip of their upper snout, just in front of their nostrils. The back of their heads is a crown like array of small spikes. These are used to protect the dragon's neck, where other dragons tend to bite first during battles.
Obvious sexual dimorphism in this species, the females have a significantly smaller crest. This poses the question that the crest is used mostly for decoration and is a biological ornament, rather than serving much of a useful purpose. Females have lighter yellow scales as well, and smaller purple stripes and larger black. They are also about 20% larger than males, the record for a pair was the female being twice as large as the male.

Genetics and Reproduction

The dragons mate in the Summer, when the Sun can heat their eggs more because their shells are made of a special material that absorbs heat rays better.
Their eggs are small, and most unusually they appear to be 2 eggs that have merged. The eggs are the same light yellow as the dragon, with purple and black spots all over it. Crested puffpoisons lay 3 eggs at a time, in large mounds that the dragon will stay near all year round. These mounds also get expanded by a few metres every year.

Mating Rituals and relationship sealing

Crested puffpoisons have a fascinating relationship seal. At the start of the first breeding season the pair have been together, the male will surprise the female with a large mud mound on a beach, built solely by himself. Usually, the quality of the mound will determine the fate of the relationship. The female always looks for sturdiness in the mound, if it can support the two of them plus the eggs then the female will stay with the male. If not, then the female will chase the male away until she tires and gives up.

Growth Rate & Stages

When the dragons have hatched, they have no crest at all. Over the first few years of its life, during its adolescent period, it will grow it. It takes about 4 years for the dragons yellow pigment to fully show, as when it hatches it is a pale, peach colour.

Ecology and Habitats

Crested puffpoisons frequent a variety of habitats. They generally live among coastal areas, in large groups. This is because the mud there is easy to manipulate and create their mounds. They have also been seen going more inland into wooded areas, especially in the Sandstone Isles where lots of food can be found, like cattle and other dragons. On the Kazaharo Cliffs, they have been seen most often near the rainbow cliffs, where the sand is easy to use to make their mounds and the forest nearby provides a lot of food.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Crested puffpoisons need to eat a lot of food to sustain themselves. They prey on small dragon species, like daggerclaws and night lights, but also bigger non-dragons that can't defend themselves as well, like cattle. These creatures are found in forests, where the dragons need to leave the beaches so they can hunt them.

Biological Cycle

In winters, these dragons do hibernate. Because of the cold, they need to make their mounds big enough to fit two adults, and lots of babies. The mounds are then covered with mud, and the dragons will fall into hibernation for a few months until the spring when they awake again.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

These dragons have long been hunted by the people of Etrea, not only for their meat but for their hide. The scales of a crested puffpoison are very sturdy, and people hunt these dragons and skin them to use the scales for protective armour. They are also used in housing, adding colour to the dimly lit houses and keeping heat in.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Crested puffpoisons have exceptional senses, as do most dragons. They can hear things up to 4 miles away, more than average for a dragon. They can see for a few miles as well, and they can almost "zoom in", limiting their vision to a specific area but enhancing it, so they can spot things much easier. This zooming in of their vision has been replicated by scientists on other planets after examining this species.

Crested Puffpoison by Mochi

Lifespan

40 years

Average Height

1.5 metres (not including crest)

Average Length

6 metres

Geographic Distribution

• Dracosei
• Etrea
• Kazaharo Cliffs
• Sandstone Isles

Poison

The creature can secrete amounts of poison from between the scales when they feel threatened, from large poison glands located in their heads, in their tails, and near their stomachs that responds to its environment. When the creature feels threatened, the poison glands will send the poison throughout the body, and it will be secreted through the gaps between the scales. This makes it much tougher to kill the dragons, but makes it more worthwile as the people of Etrea take the poison and use it on other dragons.

Fire

Crested puffpoisons breathe a white fire, about 2,400ºF to 2,700ºF. When breathed, this fire can reach up to 5 metres from the mouth, and will crispen the skin of anyone within a few metres radius.