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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RavinRay" data-source="post: 1318929" data-attributes="member: 16231">I've decided to put my reactions from several posts into a single message because they all deal with evolution. I hope this doesn't tangle up the threads of discussion. If it is please let me know.All quoted material are from Alan.It is possible to explain this as a duplication of the forelimb genes. A second pair of forelimbs would appear just behind the first pair. With some rearrangement to place it more dorsally located, and subsequent mutations, it should acquire a bat-like appearance.In discussing the development of the proto-dragon, an essential part would be the transition from gliding to powered flight. All known flying vertebrates (birds, bats, and pterosaurs) are presumed to have gone through a gliding stage. At one point or another the proto-dragon's incipient wings should have been sufficiently developed to allow it to glide. We have many examples of this both in the fossil record and in modern animals; but the most tantalizing are the flying lizards of SE Asia (where I live). These six-inch reptiles glide with membranes supported by modified ribs that can unfold to their sides. Incidentally, they are given the genus Draco.If lesser dragons exist in your world like the pseudodragon and wyvern, it would be a neat scenario if they evolved from the Gondwana proto-dragons that remained at a "lower" level of draconic evolution.Feathers are actually considered to be derived from scales so there shouldn't be a problem with dragons having feathery scales. Even some dinosaurs are suspected to have "proto-feathers." So dragonfeathers are different structurally from bird feathers. A case of convergent evolution.I agree with you on energy resistance instead of energy immunity. I like to think that a red or gold dragon is immune to fire save dragonfire, silver and white immune cold except dragoncold, etc. That's how I made my dragons.Alan, in your world the crystal dragon is descended from a white dragon subspecies. In my world, the chromatic, gem, and metallic families are preserved, so that the crystal dragon's closest relatives are other gem dragons. Our different worlds have taken divergent paths of evolution. Plus, I don't call them crystal dragons formally (only as a nickname). I call them zircon dragons, because zircons are commonly thought of as white/colorless, and have a pretty low value (to match the zircon/crystal dragon's position in the gem dragon hierarchy). Crystal is not a gemstone name (except in antiquity for colorless quartz).I've started my own dragon family tree using the thumbnails of WotC art galleries in Adobe Illustrator. It includes all the true dragons plus most of the lesser dragons. When it is finished I'll tell you.</blockquote>

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