The Dragon Journals | Speculative Biology

What might the biology of a tiny order of dragons look like? A detailed exploration the Dragons of Wales worldbuilding series, Andy Frazer’s excellent speculative project.
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Dragons cast a large shadow over the mythologies of the world. Few legendary monsters can compare to these gigantic beasts. But what if dragons cast… a slightly smaller shadow?

What if some dragons weren’t huge monsters, but strange and secretive creatures evolved to live hidden lives in the shadows and margins of the world? The amazing artist and writer Andy Frazer imagines a world where dragons are all around us, from the highest mountains to the deepest forest. Concentrated primarily in the author’s homeland of Wales, these smaller dragons — or ‘Microdragons’ as I call them – make up for their reduced size with their incredible diversity and ingenious survival strategies. The author has released many field guides on these tiny wonders that explore their evolution, anatomy, behavior, and habitats in great detail.

So, for this entry into the archive, I’ll assume the role of a naturalist and observe some of these creatures out in the field…

0:00 World of Dragons
1:18 Draco Nothophthalmus
2:26 Emerald Saeth
3:28 Draco Cepediana
4:29 Draco Ilexis
5:20 Draco Acidium
6:29 Draco Muscipula
7:18 Draco Favilla
8:05 Draco Coccineus
9:00 Draco Caudatae
9:46 Crimson Cimwch
10:41 North Nofiwr
11:32 Seren y Storm
12:23 Draco Aerilingii
13:15 Draco Borealis
14:07 Draco Babirusis
14:58 Draco Lampyridae
15:45 Draco Johanseni
16:38 Draco Ignisprehendri
17:32 More Dragons…

Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. All video/image content is edited under fair use rights for reasons of commentary.

I do not own the images, music, or footage used in this video. All rights and credit goes to the original owners.

Beauty Flow, Firesong, Impact Lento, Majestic Hills, Floating Cities
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

#CuriousArchive #Dragons #SpeculativeBiology

[John-bbzm]

common misconception, bird bones are actually exceptionally dense! their bones are more calcified (and therefore denser) to increase the strength of the bones for flight. Their skeletons are about the same weight as equivalent mammals though because they replace their trabecular bone with air cells. think of it like the difference between an aluminium pipe and a wooden stick. the pipe is stronger than the stick, but both have the same weight.

The trade off is that when we break bones we just fracture, but when birds break bones they shatter. on top of that a lack of bone marrow means even minor cuts carry a serious risk of exsanguination.

[Shoyro]

Can't help but wonder if any of these kinds of micro dragons could possibly be domesticated. I can easily see a species that's not afraid of something that gains its trust.

[Sigmund-of-helheim]

I love the idea that, from a speculative evolution standpoint, "Draconimorphs" would be decended from rampherincid pterasaurs and "Griffonimorphs" would be decended from azdarcid pterasaurs. (Forgive my bad spelling)

[monkewithinternetaccess]

I’m just imagining rat-sized dragons that hoard spare change.

[purplehaze]

Honestly, concentrating a lot of the dragons in Wales makes sense for more reasons than just being the author's home country. Like, the flag literally has a dragon on it.

[AceOThorns]

It'd be interesting to see an analysis of the Dragons in the Memoirs of Lady Trent, by Marie Brennan. The variety of dragons in that setting, and their relationships with human life are fascinating.

[gokiburi]

In some folklore, smaller dragons like the drak or the house dragon from Germany are classified as faeries rather then full blown dragons
And the one dragon with the glowing tail( i forgot the name) resembles the drak with its own glowing tail which villagers used to explain why shooting star's occurred

[SonnyDay]

I live in Wales, and first bought Andy Frazers work at a renaissance cafe. My walks through the woods have never been the same since discovering his admittedly much more interesting take on my home country.

[cocopops]

As a Welsh-man im very happy to hear about brilliant projects and people in my country and from a channel that I love non the less .thanks so much keep it up love all your work

[aBitTedious]

Wow! Such creative designs for these dragons, and I love how they are all based on real world hunting/defense strategies. I personally really love the Venus flytrap dragon. Amazing!

[dpeterson]

Dracopedia (specifically, the Great Dragons) by William O'Connor was always one of my favourite books. It's so cool to see other artists' interpretations of dragons!!

[ItzFinn]

Being welsh I was always told in school the story of the red and white dragons battling it out in a hill at Dinas Emrys. And how after a long and fierce fight the red dragon won. I've always wondered if what if dragons really existed and people in medieval wales actually saw them.

And I've been watching you since day one and I love your vids man keep it up!!👍

[DevlWlf]

I love the diversity of the microdragons. Their just so strange and colourful.
I've loved dragons since I was a kid, and to see them as descendants of pterosaurs just fills my heart with joy.

Andy Frazer, continue your hard work

[yungjoemighty]

I love your channel, and especially this series on fictional and speculative biology!

As a native British person who is passionate about ecology, Frazer's work speaks to me: there is ancient mythology of dragons in Wales, with tales of a great battle between a red dragon (representing Wales) and a white dragon (England) leading to the popularisation of the story of St. George slaying the dragon. Presenting dragons as anomalous to insects, birds and other small animals is a powerful alternative vision to tales of old, where dragons were evil monsters to be killed. This brings attention to the way many of the native creatures of Britain such as wolves were demonised and hunted to extinction, leaving the UK with one of the least ecologically diverse landscapes in Europe.

[WhitzWolf]

Not just dragons, not just tiny adorable dragons, but tiny adorable Welsh dragons! Well...mostly adorable.
Now you're speaking my language. Thanks for showcasing this one for addition to the Archive, I'd probably never have encountered this project otherwise.

[unclesloppy]

I suggest you look into No Man's Sky sometime! it's a great game that has a lot of the charm of Spore's space stage. it also has some surprisingly deep lore. it needs some time poured into it though.

[elli_senfsaat]

I don't know if it fits your channel, but I would love to see a video about the creatures of Roshar from Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive!
Alternatively, I want to suggest Netflix' Alien Worlds. It's exactly what speculative biology is about :D And its style heavily reminds me of The Future is Wild

[alfreioblanoreborn]

I'd love to see this as a series! These takes on mythical creatures are awesome and I'd like to see maybe a couple more things from this series on your channel!

[flightlesslord]

Its a very cool collection. Absolutely brilliant artist

[Asharfox]

Who agrees that it would be great if CA did a part 2 on this collection?