Silly but Serious Question: Dinosaurs and Dragons?

Question

Okay maybe I have too much time on my hands.
Also I am college educated so you can respond to this question in an educated manner even though it may sound silly.

Okay many people believe in dinosaurs. And scientists are still finding new dinosaurs bones etc.. Also they have found bones before that added a wing to a dinosaur they previousally thought was land bound. Thinking about all this..

What is a dinosaur with wings? Couldn't this be a dragon?

Told you it was a weird question..
But i'm still curious so please answer.

I am really enjoying the answers so far.
Thank You

I do want to add that I am not talking necessarily about the pterodactyl although I do know it exists.

Thanx. Awesome, Awesome answers. I'll put to a vote since I can't decide

Answer 1

I guess it could be considered a dragon. Without the 'fire-breathing' (an absurdly fictitious idea in the first place), the stereotypical dragon really is nothing more than a dinosaur with wings. Of course, it would have to be a land-dinosaur, because there were actual flying dinosaurs (Pterodactyl).

Answer 2

Hell no! Not a dragon, pal! I think what you are talking about is what's generically called a pterodactyl or and more correctly a pterosaur. To tell you the truth there was never such a thing as a winged dinosaur.

Pterosaurs are sometimes referred to in the popular media as dinosaurs, but this is incorrect. The term "dinosaur" is more correctly restricted to a certain group of terrestrial reptiles with a unique upright stance (superorder Dinosauria), and therefore excludes the pterosaurs, as well as the various groups of extinct aquatic reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs.

Because pterosaur anatomy has been so heavily modified for flight, and immediate "missing link" predecessors have not so far been described, the ancestry of pterosaurs is not well understood. They are generally, but not universally, thought to be related to the Dinosauria on the basis of their ankle structure.


Having said that, pterosaurs must have, at some point of time, evolved from the land-dwelling creatures we call dinosaurs. Maybe something necessitated them to take to the skies. The 'missing-link' ancestor, if and when it is discovered, would shed more light on this.

Answer 3

Scientists unearth a new species of primitive bird from Madagascar, called Rahona ostromi, which lived 65 million to 70 million years ago and had feathered wings like a modern bird, but also had a long, bony tail and a sickle claw like a meat-eating theropod dinosaur. Although it lived 80 million years after the first known bird, Archaeopteryx, R. ostromi may be one of the most primitive birds known and joins a gallery of recently discovered creatures that seem part bird and part dinosaur, researchers say. But this find won't end the fight over bird origins; researchers skeptical of a dinosaur ancestry say that the team may have mistakenly combined bird and dinosaur bones.

Answer 4

No, well maybe, but I don't think so, dragons would be big, and i have never seen bones to come out and look like what we think dragons should look like. I studied a lot about the myth of dragons. And if you look into it, almost all clutches have the some myth about dragons, they all have the same look,and are dated back back to time when a lot of these places didn't have contact with each other. i believe they are still alive but we don't see them, no not invisible but hiding, we find new critters all the time. Hope this helps, good ?

also, i think it is wrong to believe that anything that is bigger or 'magical' could never be real, that would make us just think we are the biggest baddest thing, you should believe in some things,

Answer 5

Not too long ago, I saw a special on dragons on TV. They speculated that the "dragon bones" that have been found by many cultures in different parts of the world are actually fossilized dinosaur bones. I thought at that point, is it possible that dragons were a type of dinosaur? Seems feasible. But further study shows that based on descriptions, they couldn't have been dinosaurs, but have similarities to other ancient reptiles such as pterosaurs. Also, based on the similarity of dragon lore from different cultures, regions, and periods in history, isn't it possible that dragons actually existed long after (or past) what we know of dinosaurs or other ancient reptiles? We know that alligators, crocodiles, komodos and other of today's "giant" reptiles have believed to have been on earth, relatively unchanged, for millions of years.

Answer 6

From what I remember from an "Ancient Mythology" class, the leading explanation of how people created the myths about dinosaurs is that they found some dino bones and freaked out. They had no way of knowing what they were, so they decided they had to be big scary monster things--dragons were born.

Answer 7

No, this is not a silly question. I just watched an amazing show on the discovery channel where they showed how ancient people mistook mastadon skulls for the skull of a one eyed giant they called a "cyclopes" also they went to the sight where the ancient greeks siad that zues and the gods rid the world of giants and took power. guess what they found? a huge wash littered with dinosouar bones! flying dinosouars=dragons? not that far of a stretch if you think about it. remember. people back then where alot like us. they werent stupid, they didnt know everything that we know now, so they filled in the gaps as best as they could.

Answer 8

Dragons are a mythological creature just like fairies, goblins and unicorns.

I hope you're not suggesting that dinosaurs lived with humans because a basic understanding of the fossil record will tell you why that is not possible.

The fact that remains humans uncover today may resemble a mythological creature does not mean they coexisted.

Answer 9

Its not a silly question at all! Im thinking you might be thinking of an archaeopteryx (AR-Key-OP-Ter-IX). Some people say that its the missing link between dinosaurs and birds.

Answer 10

birds are thought to have evolved from dinosaurs... look at a bird real close...

dragons are mythical - except komodo dragons - which are really big nasty lizards. the chinese believe a dragon encompasses qualities from all animals.

i am college-educated too, but think it is overrated...