Amphiptere

A wild species the Amphiptere is one of the least controllable dragons in existence.
They are small, the smallest dragon. They have little to no magic. They survive by their numbers and under the protection of the larger Dragon. They are considered baby dragons by outsiders, but they are a full subspecies. They have no legs only a set of wings and a long tail. They live in regions they can often be seen curled around trees.
Unlike most dragons, the Amphiptere are not meat-eaters. They survive on a diet of fruit.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They are a tiny species, even compared to the Dragonette or Drake, they are little more than a body with some wings. It is unknown why they evolved like this some say it a subspecies of the Wyrm that took out the shedding of skin to reduce the need for food.
An Amphiptere is a snakelike creature capable of crawling on the ground. If elevated, it can fly for a good distance using its body to create wind and wings to guide them.
The Amphiptere skin is somewhat thin by dragon standards. It is thicker than most creatures its size but lacks the armor of most dragons.
Its biggest defensive attribute is within its tail. The Amphiptere has a tail with several barbs. It can it a predator away and wrap itself around and begin bitting it again and again. Once in close, the Amphiptere's fangs are capable of delivering a powerful poison into anything. With larger predators, this poison is only able to paralyze but will kill predators twice its size or smaller.

Biological Traits

Within the Amphiptere there exists a subspecies. This one is a lot longer, and a lot more powerful. They live near the grasslands. They are more or less the same as their smaller brothers, just much faster. They use their tail to shoot themselves into the air and begin flying. Their wings are strong enough to allow them to fly instead of gliding. This species of Amphiptere is much faster than any other in the air even the Dragonette.

Genetics and Reproduction

Amphiptere lay eggs like most dragons. When a female Amphiptere is ready to lay her eggs the male that fertilizes them will build the female a nest. This nest is normally made of anything the Amphiptere can find it will be roughly large enough to hold the female in a coiled state.
How the Amphiptere lays their eggs are unique. The egg will travel up the Amphiptere's body and will come out of their mouths. It is a male Amphiptere job to make sure the nest is built before this occurs. If he fails at this, the egg may roll or fall resulting in its destruction.
A common Amphiptere egg will take six weeks to hatch. Most female Amphiptere is capable of laying three eggs at a time.

Growth Rate & Stages

A baby Amphiptere is a little bigger than your palm. They tend to shed their skin and growing at each stage. This happens only a few times in their life and stops once they grow their wings come in. This process takes about five years for an Amphiptere to fully grow.

Ecology and Habitats

Despite have little ability to fly, the Amphiptere loves high places. They can be found jumping on cliffs more than they can on rock faces or on the ground. They thrive in wooded areas more than any others with their ability to coil around trees being used frequently. Within the forest, they can be found hanging from sturdy tree branches.
When young the nests of Amphipteres are littered with shed skin. If the nest is properly built, the young Amphipteres are given a place of security for the first year of their lives. The nest should hold broken up fruit, leftovers from the children's feasts, and their skins.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Amphiptere is a vegetarian species. They can survive off several different kinds of plants though. When in the mountains they live off roots and cacti. In the forests, they enjoy larger juicy fruits.

Biological Cycle

When hatching, the Amphiptere is no larger than a god's palm. They will shed their skin a few times in the first year growing their full height within that year. The final time shedding will result in the scales coming in and their wings growing out. This is the sign that Amphiptere no longer going to shed. It will not be seen as a full adult yet.
After the last shedding, the Amphiptere will grow a few more feet. Their wings will grow in strength, but will never get to the point they can fly.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Females run this species. The Amphiptere is the one species of dragon that is female-dominated. They tend to be more aggressive and held onto poison glands more common in the Wyrm.

Facial characteristics

The head is a little larger than the neck of the Amphiptere. Its ears extend out looking like fins. Their nose is marked by a spike in the dragon scales. Its eyes are normally pretty small. Its front two canines are long and sharp with a forked tongue.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

You can find an Amphiptere anywhere you can find a cliff or tree. They are mostly distributed across the forests of Nibmu with large groups also within the mountains.

Average Intelligence

They lack almost all knowledge of magic. They can barely form any words within the Dragon language. They are a little more intelligent than a bird.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Unlike most dragons, the Amphiptere lacks a lot of magic. This leads many to believe the Amphiptere actually not a dragon, but a creature that mixed with dragon blood.
Those people would be wrong to assume. During the war, Amphiptere managed to kill gods marking them within the evolutionary track for dragons. Amphiptere does not normally manifest magic, but at times of great anger, an Amphiptere is capable of releasing powerful waves of fire.

Civilization and Culture

History

The genetic history of the Amphiptere is one of mystery and unknowns. Maybe believe that the creature evolved from the Wyrm of the species. Those that do also tend to believe that the Amphiptere evolved into the Dragon, though this idea is not as widespread. There are even those that say the Amphiptere evolved alongside the Wyrm. This theory states that a species evolved that was smaller and developed wings independent of the Dragon.
However, the species came to be they were present in the area when the gods first emerged. They accidentally unleashed a blast of energy into a tree where an Amphiptere family lived. The family attacked the god resulting in several bites to the god's arms and legs along with some damage to his torso. Luckily a Dragon slammed down during the fight and blasted the Amphipteres off the god.
The attack was never linked to the Dragons in any way. The tribes often acted much different and the attack was largely forgotten about by the time the gods found out about the Wyrms and Hydra. The area the gods were directed to hold a few groups of small Amphipteres, no larger than a snake, within the hills. They didn't attack but often they did cause mischief. Amphipteres could be spotted stealing fruit from the god's sacks and invading the homes of gods.
The gods still took them as a pest and got rid of the creatures from their villages. It took little effort to do since the gods were more than a little stronger than the creature. The dragons noticed this and attempted to keep the other groups of Amphipteres away from the area.
When the war began, the Amphiptere played only a minor role. They were spotted harassing caravans and stealing food as always. The difference the gods often attacked with much harsher tactics. The Amphiptere grew larger as they moved farther inland. The largest were the ones that inhabited he grasslands near the center. There they were forced to fight the Amphiptere in the air and took the most damage from them.
The gods didn't take the Amphiptere as serious as the other species so the Amphiptere had the highest chance of survival. The gods do keep an eye out for them, but if they are spotted they don't get full hunting parties like Drakes or Dragons. Often one god will go and look around.

EXTINCT

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Wyrm

Scientific Name

Draco Amphipteridae

Lifespan

80 years

Average Height

2ft

Average Weight

20lb

Average Length

15 ft

Average Physique

These are the weakest animals within the dragon species. They can manage taking down more powerful foes by working together, but most Amphiptere is incapable of taking creatures event their own size.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

One of the more colorful dragons. The skin is normally a lighter green. Even after dragon scales cover it the color can still be seen between the plates. The scales normally range sometimes they are blue, other times a dark red, or a yellow. Sometimes they are a darker green with red lines within the scales and across the wings thought to be the blood veins of the creature.