Thread: Imagine Dragons....

I was talking to my sister, who was trying to write a book, and she mentioned venom in dragons. I questioned why a species would feel the need to develop venom after exerting so much energy into size, and this led to a talk about the economics of such a large carnivore existing at all.

What kind of ecosystem would need to be in place to supply these creatures with the food they need? They either eat a lot, or are very lazy (which means no wings, because that's a black hole for resources)

I realized I'd never seen a story with dragon's that properly reflected the ecological consequences of such a thing.

This is not a biology question this is a science fiction question

The question is about the ecosystem required to support large carnivores. The example was fictional, but it's still a biology question

Originally Posted by Jason Summer

The question is about the ecosystem required to support large carnivores. The example was fictional, but it's still a biology question

Then to come close to making a reasonable guess you would have to decide on the mythical attributes of the mythical creatures.
Are they warm or cold blooded?
How big are they?
What is their metabolic rate?
What is their sleep same cycle? Etc. Etc.

Given that we have decent examples of those permutations in the fossil record, I see no reason this topic can't be explored. Theoretical biology is a perfectly reasonable topic

Originally Posted by Jason Summer

What kind of ecosystem would need to be in place to supply these creatures with the food they need? They either eat a lot, or are very lazy (which means no wings, because that's a black hole for resources)

Just off the top of my head they would need an ecosystem with plentiful prey animals with no real competition. Or maybe competition would be good to develop the venom and other dragon traits? In any case food being easy and plentiful to find would encourage the larger size.

If the dragon happened to be a herbivore maybe a forest populated with trees with big green leaves or a valley with plains full of tall green grass could support it. If the dragon was a carnivore maybe plains full of tall green grass that can support herds of large mammals that graze on the grass could support it. I wonder how a dragon could biologically breath fire?

Originally Posted by mmatt9876

I wonder how a dragon could biologically breath fire?

The idea I usually follow is a gland that makes a flamable liquid that it sprays at it's target, like napalm. I first saw this system employed by the "Monstrous Nightmare" from the HTTYD franchise. The advantages over a gas ignition are that it would stick to the target, regardlesss of its "burnability", and cause damage after the attack without sustained effort (You have to hold a torch to a victim to raise it's temperature, but a quick spit of a flaming liquid, and the job gets done for you). Ignition is a question though