Within the world of my dragons, evolution is not a widely understood concept and knowledge on dragons is overall poor. Therefore, how dragons evolved and relate to each other is not at all a well-known subject, with many misconceptions and misunderstandings, including how different species may be related, and how dragons relate to other magical beings. So, the information in this particular post is something people in their world would not have access to; consider yourself as possessing very rare knowledge after reading it ;)
- My dragons are archosaurs. This means they are most closely related to dinosaurs/birds, crocodilians, pterosaurs etc. They are not part of the squamates clade (lizards, snakes), though in-world they are often compared to them.
- Through convergent evolution, dragons have evolved some traits similar to those in mammals. For instance, many species exhibit enlarged fangs and some have a fur-like pelt. They also have a wider range of facial expressions than archosaurs tend to (for instance, they can scrunch their lips to bare their fangs), though they are less expressive than mammals.
- They are warmblooded, with magic influencing their metabolism. The larger and older a dragon grows, the more it is capable of using its own magic to sustain itself. This is a necessary adaptation to maintain such a large body; otherwise the dragon would need to spend all its waking time hunting and vastly decimate the animal population of its territory as the result. A side effect is that ancient dragons slow down considerably with their increased age and size, spending a high amount of their time resting or sleeping to preserve their energy.
What the ancestor of dragons may have looked like
Dragons evolved from a terrestrial (possibly partially arboreal) ancestor broadly resembling a theropod dinosaur, though it walked on all four legs and possessed elongated fangs and defensive horns on the back of its head. This ancestor most likely possessed some degree of a feathery covering, very likely to have been present on at least the head/neck as a ruff and on the tail. These feathers likely resembled fur rather than flight feathers. The parts of the body not covered in feathers would have had smooth scales.
This early ancestor was likely between dog and pony sized and was a solitary hunter of relatively high intelligence, comparable perhaps to a parrot or a human toddler. At some point, this dragon ancestor learned to manipulate magic, tapping into the Weave present in their world. Early attempts would no doubt have been very rudimentary, but allowed an edge for survival. As generations passed, this ancestor developed stronger arcane skills, its senses fine-tuning for detecting and using magic to survive, until a point where magic entered its DNA itself. This allowed for a veritable explosion of evolutionary adaptations unheard of in non-magical beings.
This ancestor branched off into a few different directions, leading to the rise of true dragons as well as a handful of sister lineages, which resemble dragons in multiple ways but are not considered true dragons, for instance true wyverns.
The exact order of true dragon traits evolving is not known with absolute certainty, but this is currently considered the likely order:
1. The evolution of wings (third pair of limbs). An adaptation impossible without magic influence. Evolving powered flights opened up massive opportunities for hunting, expanding/finding new territories and overall survival. It is likely that the earliest wings had a combination of feathers and skin membranes, as both these types of wings are present in true dragons, with wings combining both elements still present in some lineages.
2. The evolution of a magical breath weapon. Breath weapons opened up for completely airborne hunting, allowing for destruction without needing to expose yourself to danger. There are various breath weapon types present in true dragons. Closely related species tend to share identical or similar breath weapons, but there's also quite different species sharing the same kind of breath weapon. While in some cases this may be a hint of a closer relation than looks may otherwise indicate, it seems more likely that distantly related dragons can also achieve the same kind of breath weapon through convergent evolution. Some species do not produce fire, ice etc but may instead utilise for instance magically amplified noise in lieu of an elemental breath weapon.
3. Great size, allowing proto-dragons to grow to true apex predators, able to hunt even the largest of prey and to claim vast territories. This adaptation is no doubt heavily tied to true dragons' unique ability to use their own magic to sustain themselves for extended periods of time - without it, it would be impossible for them to maintain such incredible sizes. A solitary and territorial lifestyle is tied to this adaptation, as few territories could sustain multiple adult dragons at one time. We also see that dragon species that do live in groups tend to have a smaller overall size. Curiously there's also a handful of species of true dragons that are much smaller than the rest, whether social or not - this is likely an adaptation for filling a different niche and avoiding needing to compete with the giants. These small dragons are referred to as faerie dragons, fae dragons or similar.
4. An incredibly long lifespan - or rather, the potential for it. True dragons are capable of living for thousands of years, likely tied to their magical essence and unique metabolism. These ancient dragons are referred to as greatwyrms and have, courtesy of their power, been described to as near deities as mortal beings can be. How old a dragon can truly grow is not known, as they almost never die of old age, in fact a large portion of young dragons never even reach full adulthood. Between dragon hunters, territorial disputes or interspecies hunts, coupled with the overconfidence of many young wyrms, many perish within their first or second century. Many dragons will even specifically target young individuals of competing species in order to eliminate them before they become true threats. With all these factors in mind, it is no shock that ancient greatwyrms are truly rare. However, once reaching this size and power, a dragon is near untouchable, with the only real threats being other grestwyrms and individuals with deity-level powers.
Alongside the evolution of these true dragon traits, early dragons also evolved increasingly higher intelligence, allowing for more intentional, nuanced and advanced usage of magic, a more advanced understanding of themselves and their world, an actual draconic language and true sapience.
Unlike humanoids, dragons have never formed what we would recognise as a society, and most prefer a largely solitary existence, though a handful of species are more social. Others enjoy being around humanoids, while relations to other dragons are more strained. There are no dragon cities or leaders unifying them. Among dragonkind, every man is an island, a necessary adaptation to allow for such a large and powerful apex hunter to exist.
