Science of Dragons 

So that's why Spyro the Dragon collects gems, they're piezoelectric crystals that he needs for his fire breath! Maybe that's also why dragons in general are known to hoarde treasure, they eat the gems!

I feel like if dragons existed, they'd spit fire more than breath it, like spitting napalm.

My personal favorite explanation for how dragons could've theoretically made their way into folklore is that passed down in our memory over the generations was our early ancestors' fear of snakes and eagles/hawks, and combined the two

Trey: Yi Qi Auto-generated English: *sweats*

2:35 I always find it funny that dragon skeletons never have large breastbones, as they are a flight adaptation

What if the dragon legends come from time travelling pranksters in jets?

I read a very good book once on “dragonology.” The book covered how all forms of dragons all across the world could have lived, their anatomy, and even small details like what they could have ate and how they might have raised their young. It was a very good book, I highly recommend it.

22:47 Trey: "highly specialized and extremely unlikely and extremely implausible to evolve by natural means." Bombardier beetle: "Hold my hot, noxious chemical spray."

so you are telling me that the only way dragons could breathe fire is by farting though their mouth and then lighting it on fire with a rock?

You really like this Yi Qi guy, don't you? :D

Gliding snake: Exists Me: Now this is an avengers level threat

This video in a nutshell: y i q i

Re. Serpentine dragons: Historically, Asians thought of the firmament as being more like water than air. One theory for why Asian dragons don't need wings, and move the way they do, is is that they are essentially swimming.

Instead of swallowing stones to light the fuel, couldn't an animal produce some kind of electrical spark? Like electric eels, but in a more specialized way?

I'm disappointed. I was expecting you to bring up bombardier beetles, but you didn't! THEY LITERALLY SH*T FIRE WHEN THREATENED!

everybody gangsta until the snake starts flying

Special note: I mistakenly said Yi qi possessed an elongated fourth finger; this is false, it is actually an elongated wrist bone

For those saying: "couldn't a dragon just possess electric producing organs similar to an electric eel?" you are mistaken. There is a difference between electricity and an electric spark. Electricity is different than an electric spark. Electricity is simply the flow of an electric charge. An electric spark is an abrupt electrical discharge that occurs when a sufficiently high electric field creates an ionized, electrically conductivechannel through a normally-insulating medium, often air or other gases or gas mixtures. They are not the same thing.

20:50 Chickens have minerals inside them soooo.... Is that why they are so powerful in skyrim?

I really thought that part of dragons made real with the frozen dragon carcass was actual fact when i was a kid, shows how optimistic you are as a child. Just wanting the world to be fantastical and happy

Probably my favorite explanation for dragon fire is that in the movie Reign of Fire. In the movie dragons have glands at the back of the throat that combines chemicals that when sprayed causes an explosive gout of flame.

I despise the fact that Dragons are always shown to be evil monsters that gets killed in stories and fairy tales! We need more benevolent Dragons like Spyro or a film where the protagonist is a Dragon, which tries to kill the evil, selfish princess that abuses her power.

the most plausible "real" version of a dragon I've seen someone dream up would've been about the size of a small deer (the biggest the person designing the concept could reasonably justify it still having wings at). and, funnily enough, had a heck of a craving for fruit and the like since it needs lots of materials from them for producing natural napalm. they had come up with several variations on the basic bodyplan and toolkit (requirements were hexapedal with wings and the ability to breathe fire) that could fit into a few different niches ranging from smaller full-on fliers to groundbound large animals that retain small wings since they are still helpful for swimming. the most plausible was an agile omnivore around the size of a small deer mechanically capable of decent flight but would most likely only do so in short bursts of augmented jumping for maneuvering...wish I could remember where I saw this, it's gone so fuzzy that when I try to pull up details I genuinely can't tell the difference between remembering them and making them up, last time I saw the source material I was something like 8 years old.

funfact: Ultrasound machines use these same piezoelectric crystals for the probes in medical imaging.

I am so taken aback by the fact that fire breathing in animals is actually plausible. I kept waiting for you to get to a part where you'd show it to be impossible.

I personally like the idea that dragons are capable of creating a pyrophoric liquid that they can expel at high pressure.

So Dragons are technically mouth farters?

The flight of dragons explains this and has it where "dragons" ingest sand stone to use the gas from the reaction with stomach acid for flight and flame breath. But I think a dragon could use a strong bio electric shock(i.e electric eels) to make the "spark".

Asian dragons actually have their roots in crocodiles; long bodies, four limbs, associated with water, and usually not a danger to humans unless provoked? Crocodiles.

Well we created pugs, maybe we could create dragons XP

Ever considered doing a video on scientifically plausible mermaids? I’d love to see a video on that!

An old cartoon movie Flight of Dragons, it gave explanations of fire breathing and their fondness for gold.

So in summary:Dragons would have bad breath

this video really does DRAG ON

This is the most nerdiest video to ever be in my recommendations but I clicked anyway

I would like to know more about how the fire-breathing myth itself evolved.

what if they existed but were all killed by The Dragonborn

I think it's possible that a hexapod dragon could evolve in our current world. If flying lizards are able to glide by extending their ribs and flattening their bodies, genetic mutations could occur in which they could evolve membranes to replace the need to flatten themselves and the foremost pair of ribs could become separate from the others and be the leading wing edge. Over time, these rudimentary wings could elongate, develop digits, and gain the muscles necessary for powered flight. It's unlikely they'd be bat-like but instead resemble something like shorter pterosaur wings without the "hands" to walk on. Size-wise, they might only be able to get as large as monitors, going from a diet of insects to smaller mammals, lizards, and possibly birds.

I've always considered lindwurms and wyrms in general a type of dragon. There are also dragons in ancient Greek mythology that were very large and had no wings

everybody gangsta till they realize dragons dont breathe fire, they exhale it

An example of theoretically possible dragon: * Has four limbs * Lightweight * Forelimbs as wings

If you have ever seen How to Train Your Dragon, you know that they classify the dragons by their behaviors. I think a fun video would be you classifying them the same way biologists classify real animals, by comparing physical traits and trying to fit them together into a family tree.

18:46 The Bombardier Beetle And Its Crazy Chemical Fire out of it's butt Or as a dragon out of it's face...

I feel like regular western dragons could eventually evolve from gliding lizards, albeit much smaller. Gliding Lizards can eventually develop more muscle in their skin flaps. The wings wouldn't be the typical of a regular dragon, however I feel like they could eventually evolve into viable wings... idk that might just be me. I also disagree that ALL life needs to have evolved from a 6 limbed ancestor. Spontaneous evolution is possible, thats how everything changes in the first place. It's just unlikely for it to be on such a large scale. The gliding lizard is a perfect example. With enough time those little gliding "fins" could develop more muscle and become two more limbs. It could develop more muscle originally due to the need for more gliding control and support for continually larger fins. So I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. (Although I admit that the "fins" being basically the ribcage makes things more complicated...)

Yes please, do more of these. Hydras, Chimeras, Manticores, but especially Griffins (which are, I guess, in the "six limbed impossible vertebrates"...), but also some of the lesser known kinds, or lesser thought of as monsters, like vampires. Even if all these monsters are mythical exagerations of mankind's own beliefs on the world (kinda like the Amazons were a humurous or dreadful exaggeration of the Greek worldview where women rule and are great warriors, which was absurd to the regular Joe-andros), it's a fun game to play.

So a dragon needs to have the ability of flight? Mythology and pop culture sometimes contain ground dwelling dragons or marine dragons. The Leviathan is a sea monster that appears in both Christian and Jewish culture. Some sources describe or depict it as a fish while others refer to it as a serpentine dragon-like creature. I guess a giant mosasaur would best fit that description. Tolkiens writings contain both flying and ground dwelling dragons. Some are capable of breathing fire while the lesser ones aren't. Glaurung was a giant ground dwelling dragon that could talk, breath fire and hypnotize people. Aside from those special abilities and size monitor lizards fit the description perfectly. Some humans may have encountered giant monitors like Megalania. The dragon Sigurd from Norse mythology is also commonly depicted as flightless. This creature is further known to have influenced Tolkien.

I kept staring at my recommendation feed for half a minute before realizing that the dragon in this video's thumbnail was not, in fact, farting fire.

I love that you explore the potential science behind fantastic or creative creatures. It is my belief that all folklore/ mythology has some level of factual basis, and the imagination literally can work wonders. This sort of discussion supports my opinion, and gives me more to think about.

1:37 You left amphitheres (Serpent like, two wings, no legs). They are just as prolific as the other morphological types. Also most of the historical artwork for draco/drakes don't show what look like true wings, but something much closer to the real world equivalent. If going off Hollywood dragons, correct, it makes no sense. If going off how they actually drew them in manuscripts and such for the larger part of European history, it's much more plausible.

Dragons are stuff of myth and fantasy... or are they? Join me as we examine the scientific plausibility of dragons! We will answer questions like: Did something like a dragon once exist? and Could something really breath fire?

Hexapodal Dragons is possible with a mutation that is Hox Gene Duplication from a Wyvern... yeah, i know Hox Gene duplication happened, in the 4th of neverary....

Contrary to your theory on dragon using pyroflatulence for fire breathing, it’s probably not methane but most likely primarily hydrogen. Such a typical dragon pyroflatulence will usually burn yellow or orange hue, however, if the dragon mouth fart has a blue flame, then this could be attributed to the expulsion having a high methane content, but the dragon would also need to feed significant amounts of fiber than charred meat. like everybody said, Bombardier Beetles would be a better plausibility.

I've never heard anyone pronounce wyvern like you do (weevern) I always hear wiv-ern or wai-vern. It's interesting.

Hey, you forgot something. Technically, a more accurate version of the Asian dragon(with legs) is possible. (And to an extent, hexipodal dragons). Somewhat extreme genetic mutation, there have actually been cases of snakes mutating full legs, and many other cases of other animals mutating many extra limbs. If, by some chance, these mutations occured somewhere along the evolutionary chain, the extra limbs happened to be funtional, and the mutation asserted itself as a dominant gene. These dragons could have occured naturally, although extremely unlikely, it seems theoretically possible, mutation is how evolution happens after all. Please send a response. Thnx.

Can you imagine dragons with feathers? Because I would love to see that!

5:27 Well bois, you know what time it is. “Hey you, you’re finally awake.”

My favourite Nintendo console is the WIIvyrn

A chemical reaction like that in Bombartar beetle can make lots of heat

I love how much thought was put into this video! I enjoyed it a lot 💕

I can't remember where, but I remember reading what has always been my favorite source for the spark in firebreathing, flint-like secretions on the teeth.

Wait... for Wyverns, you say that Azdarchids don't fit the role because they have skin and pycnofibers, and no scales, but then you turn around and say that Yi qi is the closest thing to a wyvern even though it HAS SKIN AND FEATHERS BUT NO SCALES?

I think the Asian dragon was like a living hot air balloon that has gas sack much like how birds have both a gizzard and a crop. And that used its tail and body to "swim" though the air.

The Last Dragon is probably the best Mockumentary ever. I think, given recent findings about tyrannosaurs, I think likely that scansoriopterids couldve reverted back to a scaly condition. Also an idea for the hexapod dragons, what if they werent limbs but soft body parts that looked like limbs, maybe for display, or even ribs that stuck out for balance. Over millennia these structures become more and more limb like. It would be unlikely, but so would fire breathing. BUT... theres no real reason to think t-rex couldnt breathe fire. And it weirdly kinda adds up, it was large and slow, so it wouldnt be good at chasing prey, but if it could flush prey out of vegetation and into its jaws... there you go. Blinding its prey would also help. But what I really think is interesting when it comes to suggesting that t-rex could breathe fire, is its prey, hadrosaurs couldve just ran away, BUT something slow like a triceratops or ankylosaurus, needed something else. Well, trikes had a big shield that wouldve kept their internal organs and neck safe from harm (and unlike other ceratopsids, there werent any holes in its frill, which shows it was likely used in a more defensive way). But even more interestingly... Ankylosaurus had armoured eyelids. That implies that its eyes were in enough to danger for it to have enough selective pressure to evolve such a unique trait. And the only explanation I can think of is that a predator was targeting the eyes somehow... maybe by using some form of gaseous projectile... like I dunno... fire. Hell, the crests of hadrosaurs couldve evolved for communication but also been used to blow fire away, or squirt water. It kinda makes sense in a weird way. Also bird have arisacs, and given that dinosaurs had pneumatised bones, it makes sense that most weight-saving or breathing orientated adaptations occured within more basal dinosaurs, so it makes sense that these air sacks could evolve into regions of the body that hold methane or hydrogen. So, again... t-rex could breathe fire. Also I think a spark could be created by just having rocks stuck in the teeth.

21:11 Another thing that the dragon would need to evolve before is fireproof insides because yes, bereathing fire that way would probably burn you if you aren't resistent. At least that is what I am thinking. 22:37 Oh there we go

SCIENTISTS! DROP WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND MAKE DRAGONS! GET ON THAT GENETIC ENGINEERING, AND MAKE ME A FIRE BREATHING REPTILE! THIS MAN HAS PROVED IT COULD BE POSSIBLE FOR THEM TK EXIST! SO GET ON IT YA NERDS!

For the wyvern, what if the Yi Qi, instead of evolving, had a disease where they either COULDN'T have any hair like stuff/severe hairless, as well as producing to much growth hormone, with the entire flying thing being fabricated?

Dude, thank you so much for not using stock footage in your videos like Thoughty2 or whatever... what a RELIEF!

Nice job Trey! Lots of interesting information with good illustrations. Obviously, you did a lot of research and work to bring us this entertaining presentation. Thank you!

Crazy idea, hexapodal dragon being an insect? Is that on the table at all?

Please continue this series. It's so refreshing to watch a RU-vid video that isn't under 5 minutes long.

My thoughts on fire breathing was dragons used their specialized stomach acid as fuel and their teeth were used to ignite it. Dragon teeth could have mineral that’s good for sparking maybe😭🤦🏾‍♀️ idk

Truly enjoyed your video hope you do continue the series

Are you suggesting dragons would fart out of their mouths and throw fart fire at people?

Feathered wyverns actually sound very pretty! ^^

Wait... scratch the whole video.. you're telling me in some parts of the earth people have to look out for airborne snakes?...

I'm surprised these four words weren't mentioned: "The Flight of Dragons".

Whelp, guess we know the next major undertaking of science. Today: smartphones. Tomorrow: How to tame your dragon for realsies!

I think in a world where Orcs and Goblins and Wizards can exist, and therefore, Magic does, a quadrapedel dragon could indeed exist.

I'd think Dimorphodon would be close to a wyvern

Their is a pretty good documentary about dragons, explaining if they existed they would most likely able to produce helium, allowing the dragon to fly. The dragons would store coal into their teeth rich since helium is also flammable, it alows the dragons to breath fire.

Yeah. You mentioned Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Dragon) and... That's actually a shape-shifting god

There's one they fear. In his tounge, he's dovahkinn, Dragonborn! FUS ROH DAH

Thinking about it, Western "dragons" (generically) point much more to an avian animal (including the swallowing of flame-making minerals) then to a reptilian. Another mythical avian that seems to have a direct correlation with fire is the phoenix. This makes me wonder if both the phoenix and the dragon are descendants of an older mythical figure, maybe from the Indo-European cultural branch. 🤔

Wow! Super interesting video! I would have never thought it would be scientifically easier for an animal to breath fire than to have six limbs. That's incredible :D

Ah, aside from dinos, dragons are my main interest. I would love if you'd continue this.

Chemical fires in a mucus membrane launch the chemical and have it ignite with oxygen

A dragon could produce an electric spark biologically, in the same way other organisms do, like electric eels. There is also the possibility of spraying out chemicals that are extremely caustic (producing chemical burns) or react in an exothermic reaction hot enough to cause burns. Perhaps even hot enough to ignite. All three strategies are used by known organisms.

I have really thought through my dragons for my comics : they are three widely different spieces that converged in evolution. First, there are wyverns, your more traditionnal "dragon". It resembles a feathered dinosaur with large bird wings, horns and talons. They are evolved from Orbis' (my planet) equivalent to theropods, and are the last descendants, with birds, to dinosaurs. They are venomous and wild, quite difficult to tame. But by god is it cool to fly one. Secondly, there are longs, the "asian dragon". Long, serpentine bodies with wolvish heads, stag-like antlers and small limbs. They are believed to be evolved from turtles, and possess remnants of a shell to further support the claim. They are calm and incredibly intelligent, and it is said that they possess the impossible talent of telepathy. Finally, there are dragons. Just dragons. 6-limbed, ranging from 6 feet to 6 wings, enormous in size, able to spit fire, absolutely dangerous monsters with an eerie, alien appearance. They are related to demons and evolved deep below the ground, in a separate world, sealed away in the guts of the earth. It is unknown how demons managed to tame these beasts, but if the unmistakable, undescribable roar of a dragon is heard... hide.

I really liked your explanation of the fire breathing, I found some similarities between your's and a scene in Flight of Dragons where one character is trying to figure out the same thing.

Yes but what about dragons? Shad from shadiversity 2015 - present

I've literally thought this all my life. I've needed this video for years

I loved the vid pls do more vids like this and pls continue on with this.

Can you do a Science of Monster Hunter video ?

More of these please! I would love to see one on the evolution of various fantasy races like orcs, elves, humans, etc. How interbreeding between these different species could work, etc.

I love the dragon with a balloon fully covering its head, it's so adorable.

What if the scent glands on a reptile evolved to secret oil to make their scales oily and assist escape from larger predators? These could also migrate to the mouth to lubricate fangs and deliver a deadlier strike against tougher skinned prey. From there it is less of a stretch to imagine projectile Fire breathing caused by jaw muscle contractions.

I was thinking, if a wyvern were to evolve more accurately to the common legend, its evolution would have to start from early avemetatarsalia, being the common ancestors to both dinosaurs and pterosaurs. They would have to evolve in a similar way to the hollow bones, limb structure, and wing membranes of a pterosaur, but have more traits similar to a dinosaur like a longer tail, scaly skin, and a dinosaur-like head. The tail would develop membranes to help them change direction during flight. It would have to dine on large prey to develop the sharp teeth of theropods. Horns and osteroderms would develop for self-defense against dangerous foes. But in order to do so the skull would also need to be thicker and would need more muscles in the neck to support the head along with more muscles in larger wings to be able to fly, hence why a longer tail has been stated to ensure balance. The ablility to breathe fire would develop like the way you said. The skin would also have to produce an oily substance that would protect themselves from being fataly burned by their own kind.

The way he says wyvern triggers me

The first of your videos i've watched, how great!

Fyi: a dragon is a legendary snake-like creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures around the world. Beliefs in dragons vary widely from region to region, but since the Middle Ages dragons in Western cultures have often been depicted as winged, horned, quadruped and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in Eastern cultures are often depicted as wingless, four-legged serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence.