Dragons can be big or small, can be raised or hidden; It's cloudy and foggy when it's big, and it's hidden when it's small; Ascension flies in the universe, while hiding in the waves.
But there has always been controversy about whether dragons exist. In the zodiac, the dragon is the only creature with uncertain existence, but if the dragon does not exist, where does the image of the dragon come from?
Dragons and Western Dragons People often say that there are three kinds of dragons, one is dragons, the other is dragons in western mythology, and the other is real but extinct dinosaurs. Xilong, which also has many fantastic attributes, is somewhat similar to extinct dinosaurs. In particular, flying pterosaurs are quite similar to western dragons except that they can't breathe fire and spray water. They all have wings.
But we dragons are special. This slender snake has no wings. If there is such a similar creature, how does it fly?
There is a "flying" snake in nature, which may provide a reference.
Golden flower snake, also known as flying snake, is mainly distributed in Southeast Asia, India and other regions, and also distributed in Guangxi, Yunnan and Hainan in China, but it is very rare. Because there are many yellow or orange stripes on the back, it is called the beautiful golden flower snake.
The golden flower snake glides in the air instead of flying. Using the principle of ballistics, it can reach the taxiing destination accurately. When in the air, the golden flower snake's ribs can be unfolded on the back axis, and the cross section changes from round to slightly flat triangle. This allows the golden flower snake to control its flying direction by swinging its body.
According to the scientific research of the University of Chicago, the smaller the golden flower snake, the shorter it is and the farther it flies. The air resistance is proportional to the surface area of the windward side of the object, so it is impossible for such a huge dragon to glide like a golden flower snake unless it is similar to a golden flower snake.
Dragons originated from snakes? The dragon is closer to a snake in image, so people often compare it with a snake when tracing the origin of the dragon. The most popular saying is that the main ancestors of the Chinese nation used snakes as totems. During the tribal war, the tribes merged with each other, and some of the totems of other tribes were also taken and placed on the snake totem. Thus, dragons with the characteristics of antlers, shrimp eyes, snake body, pig head, ox ears, sheep whiskers and eagle claws were born.
So besides snakes, is there no creature more in line with the image of dragons?
The most dragon-like creature? There are creatures in olm that are particularly consistent with the current image of dragons, but not in China, but in Europe.
1768, an Austrian doctor and scientist friend Laurent accidentally discovered the existence of Heaulme while traveling in the Qian Shan Mountains in Corba. This is an amphibian, about 30 cm long. In appearance, Heaulme is almost exactly like a dragon, with a long face, a snake body and claws. Living in a hidden limestone cave for a long time, Heaulme's scales seem to have degenerated, only covered with a thin layer of skin. It has no eyes and a poor nose.
Because of its amphibious life characteristics, perhaps we can infer that Heaulme's ancestors lived outside caves, and their images were close to dragons. At that time, Heaulme's body was bigger than it is now, so he also had the gliding skills like a golden flower snake. This may explain why when the ancients described dragons, they described them as being able to walk on clouds and lurk in the waves.
Heaulme is a very lazy creature, and it is very difficult for them to survive and reproduce in nature. In a long time, Heaulme gradually entered the cave life, and his physical characteristics changed, which led to the disappearance of the "dragon" in nature.
Olm, a dragon-shaped creature who is lazy out of the sky, is famous for being lazy. Compared with olm, giant pandas, sloths and other animals are simply dwarfed in laziness. Scientists observed olm years from 20 10 to 20 18. GergelyBalázs, a zoologist from the University of Roland, said that during their observation, they found that the moving distance of Heaulme was very limited.
At present, Heaulme, the most active city, has only moved 38 meters in 230 days, while most of Heaulme has only moved about 5 meters. And a few lazy olm can even sleep in the same place for seven years without moving!
Besides, Heaulme is too lazy to breed ... This is similar to the giant panda, but worse than the giant panda. Female olm can only lay eggs once every seven years, and the average reproductive cycle is once every 12.5 years. If the dragon prototype is really the ancestor of Heaulme, it is not surprising that they are too lazy to breed.
Heaulme is too lazy to move or breed, and they are too lazy to eat. Heaulme lives in caves all the year round, and there are few food sources. Only some snails and crabs. So in extreme cases, olm will actively reduce the body's metabolism to reduce energy consumption, and its life cycle is very long. Scientific research shows that olm can live 100 years with an average survival time of 70 years!
The disappearing "dragon"? Heaulme's research not only gives a new direction to trace the dragon prototype, but also provides many new scientific research ideas, which is unexpected. Today, Heaulme, known as the "dragon cub", is the most representative and unique creature in Slovenia. Only Slovenia has olm in the world.
This also brings a new problem. If olm's ancestors were really the archetypes of dragons, why didn't olm appear in China? Perhaps for a long time, the ancestors of Om living in China failed to live in caves like Om in Europe, leading to extinction. After all, olm is lazier than the giant panda, and the risk of extinction is great. what do you think?