Sea Dragon

Photo credit: Digidiver.net

Weedy and Leafy Sea Dragons are fish and, in true dragon style, they eat meat. The Weedy variety grows up to 46 centimetres long and the leafy one reaches 35 centimetres. These creatures are exquisitely designed to blend in with their environment. Their flowing, lightly flowing appendages are all over their bodies. It is almost impossible to pick them out from the seaweed which provides their home.

These creatures are mostly found around the seas of South Eastern Australia and they are related to seahorses and pipefish.

The leafy Dragon is brownish yellow in colour and has olive green flowing bits all over it. Weedy Dragons are not as well decorated and they tend to be red in colour with light yellow spots. Sea Dragons have long snouts and their thin bodies are covered in bony rings which provide protection and four very small fins that are used for steering and propulsion.

Photo credit: Wikipedia Creative Commons

Komodo Dragon

Photo credit: Wikipedia creative commons

Komodo Dragons are a species of lizard that lives on the Island of Komodo and other parts of Indonesia. It is a species of monitor lizard and can grow to three metres in length. And reach a weight of seventy kilograms. They eat carrion and kill live prey. The huge size o0f these ‘dragons’ is attributed to the fact that they live on small islands in this area and are at the top of the food chain. In other words, they eat almost every other kind of creature but nothing eats them. So, they dominate the food chain.

These giants were only discovered by western science in 1910 and their numbers are already being threatened by encroaching human habitats and they have been captured and kept as zoo exhibits because of their huge size and comparative rarity. The Indonesian government now protects the komodo dragon.

Bearded Dragon

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Bearded Dragon is the common name for the agamid lizard. It is easy to see how it got its name from the pictures below. These ‘dragons’ are native to Australia but are often kept as exotic pets in other parts of the world. They grow up about 60 centimetres long depending on their living conditions and can reach 15 years in age. Colours range from light tan through reddish, to dark brown.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Water Dragon

Photo credit: Wikipedia:  Australian water dragon

The water dragon comes in two distinct species: Chinese Water Dragon and the Australian Water Dragon. They grow up the a metre long and are semi-aquatic. They use their flattened tails to propel them through the water and can stay underwater for long periods of time. Like many lizards, water dragon has a third eye on the top of its head which is light sensitive.

Phot credit: Wikipedia:  Chinese water dragon