Bat

Fantasy Fact: Dragon wings consisted of skin supported by the underlying bones of the limb and extended to its fingertips.

Scientific Inspiration: The wings of dragons consist of a leathery membrane supported on the bones of the arm (humerus, radius and ulna) and greatly extended bones of the digits. In this respect, it is almost identical to the wing structure of modern bats, as opposed to birds, in which the main surface of the wing is composed of the flight feathers, supported on the bones of the "arm" and "hand." In the case of birds, however, the main bones of the wings are simple, consisting mostly of the humerus, radius and ulna, plus the bones of two "fingers" fused together into a single strut.

In both birds and bats (as in dragons), the flight muscles that operate the wings are on the animal's body, rather than on the wings themselves. This is economical: as the flight muscles contract, they move the wing by pulling on tendons. Thanks to this musculature, they do not have to move their own mass up and down with each wing stroke, as would be the case if the flight muscles were located in the wings.