So here's the deal: I finally worked out wyvern anatomy. I can't work out the aerodynamics, but since they are essentially wind elementals in my world I attribute it to air magic, alright? Great.
In my world, wyverns are like dragons but two-legged. Here is how I was thinking I could make their anatomy pretty much work for a flying, carnivorous lizard:
- Give them bird anatomy: hollow(ish) bones, air sacs, high metabolism, etc.
- Except for their wings, heads, and tails, that is. They have bat-like wings (this may be changed because I need to look deeper into how bat wings work), draconic heads/necks, and draconic tails.
- Body covering: traditionally this is scale, but in my world I made it would be down with a covering of something in between a feather and a scale (all a feather is is an evolved scale, anyways).
- Why wings if not to fly? Well, here it is: they use wings to a) scare off predators; b) thermoregulate by vasodilating the blood vessels within the wing while in the sun to warm up or when dipping them in water to cool down; c) attract mates and use them as displays like peacocks do tails; d) use the thumb on their wings as a foreleg or occasionally a weapon; e) to scare predators by making them appear larger than they are.
- Cold- or warm-blooded? Still something that needs some work. I think I have to make them warm-blooded endotherms- otherwise flying at such great heights and being able to withstand a variety of climates is nigh impossible.
- Eyelids situation: they have eyelids and a nictitiating membrane like a bird. They need this to protect their eye in flight, when hunting, etc.
- What's up with the tail? Well, it's a wyvern so it gets a draconic tail. It doesn't exactly fit, but....it's fantasy, okay?
- Toe configuration: like owls, they can switch between the two-forward/two-back toe configuration and the three-forward/one-back to configuration. They do have a larger hallux like a bird of prey would.
- Food Chain: They would be like a hawk- an apex predator that is still prey to certain species. They would eat small rocs and be eaten by larger wyverns or dragons. Of course, there is more to that, just listing off all the species in their plane would get ridiculous.
If there is anything else that needs clarifying, please ask.
So here is the question: do you see any flaws or things I missed that need some working out? If so, do you have any solutions?
Thanks to anyone who answers this,
Feather
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