THE DRAGON: A FANCY OR A FACT 115 



pointed ears which no living reptile possesses. His 

 mouth is open, showing teeth like those of a crocodile, 

 and from it issues a remarkable tongue, terminating in an 

 arrow-head-shaped weapon (presumably a " sting ") un- 

 like anything known in any living animal. His tail is 

 very long and snake-like (an important fact when we 

 come to consider his ancestry), and is thrown into coils. 

 It terminates in an arrow-head- 

 shaped structure like that of the 

 tongue, quite unlike anything known 

 in any real animal. He has four 

 powerful limbs, which are not like 

 those of a lizard or a crocodile. 

 They resemble those of an eagle, 

 and have grasping toes and claws, 

 three directed forward and one back- 

 ward. In addition, he has a pair FlG- l6> _ The heraldic 

 of wings, which are leathery, and dragon : observe the bat- 

 supported by several parallel bars, like win g s > the ears > the 



... . , . horned nose, the beard, 



a structure which gives the wings a the arrow . like tongue and 

 remote resemblance to those of a tail -piece, the scaly body, 

 bat. The wing is quite unlike that the dorsal crest & e 



f j L 1 /ii. i- snake-like tail with its 



of a pterodactyle (the great extinct unnatural arrow . like ter . 

 flying lizard), and has no resemblance mination. 

 whatever to that of a bird, which is, 

 of course, formed by separate quill feathers set in a row 

 on the bones of the fore-arm and hand. The wings are 

 always represented (even in illegitimate and Oriental 

 dragons) as much too small to carry the dragon in flight. 

 The dragon has, further, a crest of separate triangular 

 plates set in a row along the mid-line of his back, extend- 

 ing from his head to the end of his tail. Some lizards 

 (but not crocodiles) have such a crest. The most like it 

 is that of the New Zealand lizard, called the Sphenodon. 

 Such is the creature called " the " dragon. But 



