A wyvern was a large winged lizard, distantly related to the dragon, with a poisonous stinging tail and sharp teeth.
Description
These creatures varied in length from 15 to 35 feet (4.6 to 11 meters), weighed around a ton, and were covered in dark brown or grey scales. They typically had either red or orange eyes and their jaws were filled with long and sharp teeth.
Unlike true dragons, wyverns only had a pair of hind legs instead of a set four. Their wingspan could get over 50 feet (15 meters) in length. And their tails were often quite long, comprising almost half of their bodies, yet very mobile. These ended in a thick cartilage knot with a stinger protruding out of it, not unlike that of a scorpion.
Telltale sounds that these creatures produced included loud hisses and throated growls, similar to the vocalizations of alligators.
Behavior
Wyverns were aggressive and not greatly intelligent. They were not averse to attacking anything less powerful than themselves. Their sleek, strong legs proved very useful for an attack.
When fighting these creatures would dive down from above, grabbing prey with their hind leg claws, and then attempt to sting them to death. They were also known to slash at creatures with their claws mid-flight. Their tails were so long that opponents were typically struck by a wyvern's tail before their legs.
Ecology
Wyverns can be both solitary and group animals. They did not have a strong odor, although their lairs often could be tracked by following the smell of their recent kills.
Dragons, griffons, and wyverns had a fierce rivalry over hippogriff meat. Manticores, chimeras, griffons, perytons, and wyverns were territorial rivals.
Languages
Despite their middling intelligence, wyverns were fluent speakers of Draconic.
Habitats
These creatures were typically found in areas that were favored by dragons, such as tangled forests or large caverns.
📚 Explore more of the Mystical Creatures series here: Dive into the Enchanted Realms of Mythology
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