Mountain Dragon

The mountain dragon is so called because in medieval times, it was restricted largely to mountains and other remote habitats. The name is, however, slightly inappropriate since the species was much more widespread in lowland forests and was not restricted to mountains before the pressures of agriculture and a burgeoning human population restricted its habitat.

Like all post-Cretaceous dragons, mountain dragons had six limbs: a pair of wings in addition to two pairs of legs, the result of an advantageous developmental mutation that occurred after the extinction of the two-legged, two-winged prehistoric dragon.

The mountain dragon's body was relatively short compared with that of the marine dragon; however, a shorter body is essential for flight, where a long flexible vertebral column is a disadvantage. The tail was approximately as long as the body, with a razor-sharp arrowhead-shaped structure that could be used as a defensive weapon. A sideswipe from a dragon's tail could sever a man's arm.