Dinosaurs walked the planet 60 million years ago before becoming extinct, today humans invest great efforts to understand them and great interest has developed in them. But nature is so intriguing that there are still reminiscences of that period when reptiles dominated the earth. The flying dragon is proof of this, with its appearance that lives up to its name and its ability to glide, it is a surprising animal.
For the small flying dragon, moving among the canopies of the jungles of Southeast Asia is crucial for its survival. This is why evolution has given them an aptitude that not every reptile possesses; that of flying. Running on the ground in the jungle where most of its predators live can be a minefield for the species, which is why they have eliminated the ground from the adaptive equation.
The appearance of the flying dragon
Although the appearance of drakes is quite similar to that of a dragon up close, this is not the case from a distance, as they are very small animals that barely reach a length of 20 centimeters from the edge of their head to the end of their tail.
Their bodies are especially flattened, an aerodynamic that helps a lot to achieve their flights. They are mottled yellow, although the underside of their wings is blue in males and yellow in females.
In addition to its wings, there is also a fold of skin that hangs at the bottom of the neck, as if it were a dewlap. This also presents differences depending on sex; while the females have a bluish gray color, the males have bright yellows in this region of their body.s
Regarding its distribution, the icefish lives in densely forested areas of Southeast Asia, in the Philippines and Borneo, although it is also possible to find them in southern India.
How does the flying dragon fly?
Flying dragons have folds of skin attached to their ribs that they expand at will, as if they were dragon wings. It is precisely these folds that allow it to glide for relatively long distances. A reptile of this species could easily plan half an American football field without any inconvenience.
Additionally, lizards also use their long, thin tails as a guide through flight. Thanks to the union of all these aerodynamic characteristics, flying dragons live up to their name and are capable of gliding for great distances compared to their small size.
However, although they have developed the ability to remain in the treetops for most of their lives, females must still descend to lay their eggs on dry land. There they dig a nest with their snout and defend it to the death during the first days after laying the eggs. But once this time has passed, the females once again ascend to the trees, leaving their young to fend for themselves.