Abby raises her hand. "The Hungarian Horntail is the most dangerous of all the dragon breeds. It has black scales and is lizard-like in appearance. The Hungarian Horntail has yellow eyes, bronze horns, and similarly colored spikes that protrude from its tail. The Horntail has up to one of the longest fire-breathing ranges. He can shoot flames up to fifty feet. This dragon's eggs are cement-colored and have very hard shells. The baby dragons club their way out of their egg using their tail. The baby's tail spikes are well developed at birth. The Hungarian Horntail feeds on goats, sheep and whenever possible humans."

Source: Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, page 12-13.

Cela sighed, immediately happy now that she had candy. Cela looked at the list and sucked on her chocolate frog happily for a moment before answering, hand raised, "Well, The Ukranian Ironbelly, and the Common Welsh Green might not seem like they have much in common but both have caused problems by being spotted, or very nearly spotted by Muggles. The Ukranian Ironbelly, the Romanian Longhorn, the Hungarian Horntail and the Norwegian Ridgeback all range in Europe and The Norwegian Ridgeback and The Peruvian Vipertooth are both poisionous. Ummmm," Cela thought for a bit, hand still raised, "Even though they are all different sizes, they have basic structures in common, like the wing? It's kind of like a bat's wing, with fingers and a wrist sort of. And it isn't like connected to the same joint as the shoulder and some people draw them like that; its better to kind of look at it like the bit where the wings join are another set of limbs as far as muscles go and all that."


ooc: source... various places from when I was researching that homework, going from memory here.

Maddox raised his hand and replied, "Well, from looking through my Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them , you will notice that all the different species of dragons live in some type of mountain range. Whether it be in a valley or in the highest peaks. Also, the Antipodean Opaleye, the Common welsh green, the hungarian horntail -althought it eats goats and humans as well-, all have a diet of sheep. An interesting difference between all the dragons is the color of their flames, and the length of or a special way the flame comes out. Also each dragon has its own distinct features. As said before there are few that have venemous fangs." He looked back through his book, and decided to give someone else a chance to answer.

Annie wanted a chocolate frog. She did she did she did she wanted one sooooo bad...so that she could sneak it into her pocket later and feed it the dragon.

They were getting a dragon, right? She wasn't laik, going to class for nothing, was she?

So the bubbly redhead threw her hand up and made up an answer off the top of her head. "The difference between ummm a Swedish Short-Snout and a Portuguese Long-Snout is...is...."

She scratched her head and then had it. "One has a longer nose than the other - I'm guessing the Portawhattaone has a snout like an anteater whereas the Swede has a sniffer like a pig. Obviously."

Bunbunz flipped a bit of red hair over her shoulder and beamed at the professor expectantly, waiting on her frog reward. House Points were of no importance - she just wanted choklit.

ooc source: roro's nutty brain at 1 am xD

Raiden raised his hand tentatively. "Well... I think the Antipodean Opaleye is the only dragon who doesn't have pupils... That one and the Welsh Green are the least mean dragons on the list, they tend to stick to eating sheep... I'd feel bad for sheep, but I'd feel worse if they were eating humans, so..." He coughed. Sidetracked a biiiit. "Hungarian Horntails eat sheeps too, but they like humans better. Which makes me glad I'm not Hungarian." He looked back down at his book, trying to remember things. "Uhm... I think only the Hebridean Black has weird-looking wings, like a bat's wings. Oh, and the Opaleye one and the Chinese one, they grow to about the same size, right?" He thought for a second. "Uhm, Professors, are there names for the baby dragons that are born when two different types of dragons produce offspring? Like, if an Opaleye dragon and a Portuguese Long-Snout had a baby dragon?"

OOC: Source = Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.

Kayla raised her hand, "Well the most notable similarities between the different dragon breeds is that they are all carnivores, all preferring a meat diet. And even though a couple of the breeds such as the Opaleye and the Common Welsh Green like to avoid humans, they will eat you if necessary. They all have scales although they do range in different colours and textures. Another similarity is that they all lay eggs. The Norwegian Ridgeback and the Romanian Longhorn are now considered a rare breed as their numbers are dwindling."

"Of course the obvious differences between the dragons are their sizes, and as Maddox said the difference in fire breathing and although they all lay eggs, each dragon breed egg is a different colour. Opaleye eggs are pale grey and are often mistaken for fossils by muggles, the Chinese Fireball eggs are crimson speckled with gold, the Common Welsh Green are earthy brown flecked with green, the Hungarian Horntail eggs are cement coloured and the Norwegian Ridgeback eggs are black just to name a few. Also the Vipertooth is the only dragon with venomous fangs."


ooc: source Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.

Paris raised her hand. "Well my dad's favorite is the The Peruvian Vipertooth. Its one of the few breeds of dragon that lives in the western hemisphere and unlike other breeds of dragon they had smooth scales. But like the Ridgeback their fangs are venomous. The Vipertooth is the smaller of dragon breeds and it really likes humans unlike other breeds and they are also blend in better than other dragons because they only get up to 15 feet when they mature. Vipertooths like humans so much that the International Confederation of Wizards had to get an exterminations squad to cut down their numbers." She said as she took a deep breathe. Her father would be proud of her remembering all that stuff about his favorite dragon.

OOC: according to the HP wiki

Looking at Iliana for permission to respond to the students, Ethan relaxed and listened attentively as they gave their answers.

"Those tail spikes? Certainly not for show." Ethan rubbed one shoulder in remembered pain, "Thank you Abby." He nodded at her, idly wondering when the textbooks would be updated.

"Those are some good differences and you are completely right. Hold that thought about the wing," Ethan held up one finger, "Getting ahead of ourselves."

"It is actually fairly rare to find dragons in valleys, the Antipodean Opaleye is the only one which makes its nest in a valley almost without exception. Of course that is much to do with where it lives. Sheep are indeed a common food source, particularly in places where sheep are numerous. The environment is always an important influence on preferred prey." Ethan told the class.

"Thank you for mentioning the flames. Different flame delivery systems develop based on enviromental factors too. Climate is a big factor, as is habitat. Flames that are discharged in a spiral tend to be faster, hotter and more precise as far as aiming goes. I have more information on dragon flames for anyone who is interested, but as my area of expertise is dragon venom, that is what we are going to talk about today. Thank you Maddox."

"Right, Annie. Good point. You should all keep in mind what you can learn about a dragon based on its name alone." Ethan nodded at the herbology professor, wondering if she was here with the intention of collecting dragon dung or something.

"I'm half-Hungarian." Ethan mentioned mildly before taking a breath and adding, "All dragons have wings that are fundamentally similar to a bat's but for certain the Hebridean Black is the closest appearance wise. Their wings are thinner and appear more rubbery. The similarities lie in the bone structure, though the muscle structure is generally closer to a bird's than a bats. And as for your question, keep in mind that it is illegal to breed different magical creatures together under the Ban on Experimental Breeding passed in 1965. Dragons are in most cases, barely tolerant of their own kind let alone another kind of dragon. The differences between dragons are not like the difference among... cats say. It is more comparable to snakes, which often eat each other."


"Ahhh! Common misconception! And one I was hoping someone would mention! Some dragons have been found to be omnivorous based on observation and stomach content. It is a very loosely applied term and sounds contradictory; omnivorous dragon. But it is the case and we will talk about that in just a moment. The rest of your answer is correct apart from your comment that the Peruvian Vipertooth is the only dragon with venomous fangs, something else we will talk about in just a moment."

"Well now, that would be my favourite too." Ethan actually managed to sound delighted and he nodded as she shared what the textbook had to say about the Vipertooth. "It is very rare for a Vipertooth to grow larger than 15 feet actually. Ethan smiled at the slytherin girl and moved towards the board and tapped it, notes immediately appearing as he spoke.

"Just as the outer appearance of dragons differs from species to species, so too does the inside of the dragon, namely the mouth. Dragons are either carnivorous or omnivorous- there is no such thing as a herbivorous dragon." He winked at Kayla.

"Omnivorous Dragons can not survive off plants alone and in actual fact the term omnivorous is only loosely applied. These breeds have been observed eating certain plants of both the magical and mundane variety, though we do not yet know what the true purpose of this is or why certain breeds eat particular plants but not others. This is one of the areas of research in the reserves. Does anyone have any theories as to why some dragons might eat plants?"

ooc: Yes, you can be creative, or you can base your answers on facts about other creatures... just make sure you cite your sources if you write anything that doesn't come from your own brain. Just so you all know, Lisa and I are tag teaming a bit for this portion, so keep an eye on both our posts as either of us may ask questions. We have been very careful to keep additions as close to canon as possible, but anything extra is based on general information about reptiles etc.

Perhaps Dominic shouldn't have gotten so caught up on the fact that he was totally wandless because Professor Morgan had so clearly stated that 'Wands won't be necessary. WE are here to protect you.' Despite her careful emphasis about that, the fifth year still would have felt more comfortable knowing he had his Ash Wand with him. If he hadn't been so caught up than he would have paid more attention to the fact that Professor Dumont was sitting directly in front of him, acting like he was a STUDENT!

Not to mention the fact that Bunbury and Lupa were also here, acting just as childish. Then again, they always acted as such. Emotional drama queens those two were. Perhaps locking them in a cellar together would do them both some good.

The only sane thing about the room was the fact that one of his idols, Professor Truebridge, was there. Educating them about dragons since he worked with them himself. Yes, Truebridge was indeed some comfort to him. Enough to make him focus long enough to the fact that they had moved onto discussion of Dragon breeds and their differences...


Raising his hand, Dominic spoke first of their similarities. "Dragons are some of the most incredible creatures ever, with having been awe-inspiring to both wizards and muggles alike. They are particularly known for their fire breathing abilities, but dragons also provide us with useful materials such as their bladder, blood, dung, eggs, heart, hide, horn, and liver."

Listening again to the other students, Dom decided to go into one particular breed that wasn't really talked about. "The Ukrainian Ironbelly is the largest breed of dragons, weighing up to six tons. They tend to prefer the mountainous area between Romania and Hungary, which is the Transcarpathian region. The Ironbelly also comes equipped with metallic gray, long talons, which are unique to their breed."


ooc - source is HP Lexicon =)

Paris raised her hand. "Well some wizards theorize that dragons either might have evolved from muggle dinosaurs or they cross breeded with them. And there are known breeds of dinosaurs that were eaters. Just like some muggle paleontologists things that some breeds of birds and lizards evolved from dinosaurs." She said. Thats what she thought anyways from visiting muggle museums and seeing dinosaurs bones.

OCC: no source on that one..straight from the dome on that one

Dominic perked up as Professor Truebridge regained control of the class with bringing up Omnivorous Dragons, which was something that he honestly had never really heard of it. But yet he could imagine slightly why this might be. Biting his lip thoughtfully for a moment, the fifth year blinked and then raised his hand. "Perhaps, Professor, the reason why some dragons might eat plants could be related to an Evolutionary Theory by Charles Darwin, which related to 'Survival of the fittest'. It seems quite obvious that the dragons who tend to be more omnivores are ones that meat is not really in high quantities. Rather plants reign more free in those areas and there is plenty of them. The dragons eat plants to survive. If that's all they have, then why are they going to starve when they could live just as easily on plants? Furthermore, if humans could be vegetarians by choice or even by supplies, then couldn't dragons and other creatures make the same decisions?"


ooc - well i was going to use a source, but I went with Jess' brain/memory instead! ;P

Quote:

Originally Posted by NicoT

"Right, Annie. Good point. You should all keep in mind what you can learn about a dragon based on its name alone." Ethan nodded at the herbology professor, wondering if she was here with the intention of collecting dragon dung or something.

Does anyone have any theories as to why some dragons might eat plants?"

Annie was basking in her rightness with a rather smug smirk on her face. Hahaha I was right, lookit those losers like Domino that aren't as smart as meee.

She crossed her legs and sat up higher on her chair, raising her hand to answer the next question. Clearly Truebridge liked her, and since she was a plant expert, shouldn't she know why dragons liked plants?

"As an expert in the field, Za---Truebridge Professorman," Annie giggled at her almost slip-up, "I know the answer to this one. It's cos plants are simply tasty. If yer a dragon and ya don't feel like huntin one day, maybe your sniffer - which may be long or short depending on your breed - maybe your nose leads ya to a nice, nummy, delicious flutterby bush. Or perhaps you ate up all the local sheep and Muggles in the nearest village, so ya gotta adapt to the environment and either find new territory or suck it up and eat some plants.

"And like I said," she continued with a cheeky grin, "plants are mighty tasty. Have you ever eaten grass, Ethan? And cocoa beans, I'm willing to bet a galleon or two on the fact that those omnibblering dragons loooove to have a cacao tree or two for dessert. It prolly cleans 'em out good, if ya know what I mean."

She finished her 'expert testimony' with an exaggerated wink at Truebridge before settling back in her seat. Bunbunz popped a large chunk of Drooble's Best Blowing gum in her mouth then and started chomping and snapping it loudly. She had already answered, dur, why bother listening to the others? Pfft. As if they knew anything.

ooc source: once again, roro's magic brain @ 3:30 am (:

Helios sat with a furrowed brow, still uneasy about the lesson.

It took a few moments, but he finally piped up. "What if it's their conscience? Perhaps some dragons go against their nature? I don't think they're always beasts.."

Do they really know how intelligent dragons are? Perhaps they judge us in a similar light. Savage creatures.

Oh she hadn't thought about that, she looked back through her book but it didn't say anything about any of the dragons eating plants. No doubt they would need another source of food variety. "Oops my apologies Professor, I didn't think of that" Kayla said as she listened to Truebridge give his explanation on carnivores and omnivores, she grinned slightly at his wink.

She raised her hand to answer the question, "Well perhaps they eat plants to help with their digestion system, you know to help break down all that meat. And don't some plants act like a sort of breath freshener, they say eating parsley helps to cleanse the palate after you have eaten. Maybe they don't want bad breath and oh maybe it could help with their fire breathing abilities." Okay she was reaching now but anything was possible right?

"Oh and many plants are used medicinal purposes, so perhaps they eat them when they are feeling ill. Dragons are the most intelligent magical creature to walk this earth, so they would know what plant to eat and which ones they shouldn't." Kayla put her hand back down and rocked back and forth on her feet.

ooc: source me...lol

"there's some dragons that are herbivores who only eat plants or omnivores who eat both meat and plants....And plants or flowers have fragrance that might attract the dragons because it smells good and flowers have a nectar...a sweet liquid that makes a good taste...Plants can also be used as medicines and others so if dragons have an ill or sick he might eat plants because he thinks that this might help to relieve the pain they suffer.."Cedric said as his hands are raised...

source:own explanation
ooc:I already fill out the permission slip

Giggling, Raiden half-raised his hand, just in case. "As long as you're not half Hungarian-Horntail." He paused. "There... was a dinosaur that had wings like that, I think... but they had feathers on them. I can't remember what it's called though, it had some ridiculously long, complicated name... started with an A..." Pause. Again. He listened intently to Professor Truebridge's response about the dragon hybrids, then raised his hand a little bit, once more just in case it would be out of turn to speak. "I understand that, Professor, but in the text it says that it happens sometimes. I guess if it's a rare occurrence, the baby dragons don't get names, do they..." He frowned. "That's sad, not to have names."

Half-listening to the Professor as he answered the rest of the students, Raiden decided not to dwell on the fact that there were nameless hybrid baby dragons in the world. There was already enough going on to worry about. There were professors sitting in on the class... and answering questions like they were students themselves. Speaking of questions...Raiden thought for a moment before raising his hand to answer the latest one.

"Maybe some plants have a particular taste that...I don't know, reminds them of what they'd actually like to eat?" He finished doubtfully. How likely was it that there were plants that tasted like sheep or something like that? "Maybe... maybe it has something to do with their digestive systems? Some animals eat rocks to help squish up their food in their stomachs." Wait, that wasn't it, rocks and plants were completely different! "Uhm... Roscoe eats grass when he has a tummyache. My mum explained it to me this past summer... cats and dogs and I guess probably some other animals, they eat grass and other plants when they're feeling sick because it makes them throw up." He wrinkled his nose, then gasped. "Oh wait... don't sheep eat grass and stuff like that? And then, when dragons eat them... maybe they taste the grass and plants that the sheep ate... and then they eat plants too because... it reminds them of the animals they eat?"

Source OOC: Hello brain. You're thinking up answers on your own again? Without books or Google? Oh lovely.

Cela copied down some notes from Truebridge's responses and the answers other students gave.


Celandine thought about the question for a bit before raising her hand to answer, " Maybe its because some of their chosen prey might eat things that make it harder for the dragon to digest their meat. Like... um... there is a word... oh! Enzymes! Maybe they need to eat particular plantlife to get the right enzymes to digest their meat! Or... since they eat magical plants too right? Well maybe there are properties in the magical plants that help their magic. Their defensive scales and ability to fly and..." Cela paused, "Maybe they eat plant life because they need stuff to help produce their flame? Like if there isn't brimstone or something where they range, maybe they have to eat plants with a high sulphur content." Celandine suggested.

ooc: from my head, which is why its all speculation

Alessia had been distracted by the chocolate frogs Ili had given her... ooooo nummy. Her mouth was smeared with chocolate, but Less didn't notice... she DID notice though, that BunBuns woman looking at her chocolate frogs... She turned her back to the Herbology professor and finished her frogs.

The cootie infested professor EthanZanTrueBridgy was half hungarian... She looked at his head and then at his feet and thought to herself... I wonder which half... the top? or the bottom? She shrugged... didn't really matter... Where was this dragon!?!?! She wanted to play with him! She poked Celandine from behind. "PSSSSST!!! Cela!!! Uhmmm Sooooo when are we playin- no when are we NOT playing with the dragon..." She burst out in giggles.

Cela turned around and blinked at Professor Lupa, momentarily finding it totally weird that she was sitting in front of her and next to Professor Dumont and they were both into candy. Cela had almost finished her chocolate frog, but she halved the last of it and offered the bigger piece to Professor Lupa, "I think we have to learn things first. If people don't behave then they might not let us see one." Celandine suggested, looking back towards the front of the classroom, "I think thats what those permission slip things were about. I don't think its here. I think we will have to go somewhere."

"Thank you for mentioning the parts we use, I believe Professor Morgan plans to go into that later." Ethan looked at Iliana and nodded before turning his attention back to Dominic, "Thats right, the Ukranian Ironbelly is huge and heavy, it does alot of damage because of its sheer size and strength."

"I've heard that theory too." Ethan agreed, "So those that possibly evolved from plant eating dinosaurs might still eat plants today, even though they cannot survive on plants alone."

"Certainly but, as I mentioned; they cannot live off plants alone; their metabolic rate is ill-suited to doing so. The thing about meat eaters is that meat is high protein, that provides high energy and reserves of strength. A dragon can go days without eating. If they had the metabolism of a plant eater, they'd need to spend the majority of the day just eating. Plants don't run away, prey does, so meat eaters need to be able to go days without food because of the changeable nature of their food supply. But your point about making a choice is a valid one, even if we can only speculate on the reasoning or instinct driving the choice."

Ethan twitched slightly, just beginning to wonder at Bunbury's behaviour and mentally comparing it to Less and... well Professor Dumont was being a little odd too. He turned to Iliana and shot her a significant look. Did she know what was going on?

Still, he cleared his throat and answered, "Right, it could be as seasoning for all we know. Or to help the excretory system function, that is most certainly a valid theory and one that is being researched currently based on the quality and consistancy of the dragon dung." Not a research project that Zan envied at all.


"Possibly but highly unlikely based on the brain chemistry of predators. So much of the behaviour observed in dragons is instinct based. Instinct generally overrides conscience in these types of creatures."

"Those are excellent theories, Kayla." Ethan shot a look at Professor Morgan as if to check if the Hufflepuff prefect was usually this good in the Care of Magical Creatures class.

"As I said but a moment ago, there are no dragons that are herbivores. The ones that we are talking about that eat plants are loosely classed asomnivores, but you are right about the medicine."

"It is very rare for it to occur naturally, Raiden." Ethan spoke gently, "rare enough that there is no need for a name, considering you'd need one for each possible sub-species since they would not all be the same. I like the digestive system suggestion."

Ethan looked at the young Ravenclaw in amazement as she spoke, "As it is, those are some of the theories that are circulating and currently being researched; Enzymes, digestion, magical relationship between plants and dragons, flame production, venom production..." Ethan cleared his throat and moved on.

"The other reason these Dragons are classed as omnivores is because they have evolved flattened molars and premolars along with their canines and incisors.

Can anyone explain the purposes of these four types of teeth?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly at Professor Lupa in puzzlement, just barely catching what she said to Celandine. Ethan looked at Iliana and raised both eyebrows, trying to be as discreet as possible with his growing unease.

Celandine raised her hand to answer, "Molars and Premolars are for breaking down food to make it easier to digest, the premolars are also called bicuspids and are smaller than the molars. There are actually heaps of different kinds of molars classified based on the crown shape and the root systems, different animals evolve them for different purposes- they even have totally different ways of attaching to the jaw and stuff. In plant eaters the molars and bicuspids tend to be flatter and more rounded because they spend so much time chewing and digesting, in meat eaters that actually have molars-- and not all of them do-- the molars are sharper and more geared toward tearing. Canines are sharp and pointy, they are for piercing and puncturing. They are also called eye teeth for the top ones, or in general, fangs and those are the kind of teeth that venom is injected through. Incisors are for cutting and tearing. "



ooc: *taps noggin for source*

They had to explain the purposes of TEETH? Duuuude, he wanted to get on with the dragon-riding already! He didn't care about their teeth! As long as they weren't chomping on HIM! Heh.

"Molars are the teeth at the back, right? They're the chomp chomp grindy up the food teeth, I think." And premolars? Uhhhm. "Pre means before, doesn't it?" He asked, thinking out loud. "So I'm guessing those are the ones infront of the molars? I reckon they're for a bit of the chomp chomp action too."

And what else was that?

"Canines.. they're the ones I wouldn't wanna get on the wrong side of, man.. Those are the big, scary ones ain't they? The ones that are for tearing, and ripping things." Shudder. "They're like ... FANGS! And then the incisers are the front ones, they're for cutting up stuff too but they don't look as scary as the canines."

Thinking he'd rambled quite enough, Clifford lowered his hand.Hmmm.

Kayla raised her hand, "Flattened molars are used for trapping and crushing large bones, while the canines are used for ripping and tearing food, the incisors are used to grasp, hold and gnaw and the premolars are for chewing."

Grinding his own teeth subconsciously, Jake raised his hand. "Erm... I dunno what each are, but like..." He opened his mouth and pointed towards the back. "The'e wu' are hurrr griin'i'n 'ainly and htuth and hchhewin'..." Jake closed his mouth a little and tapped the pointy ones near the front of his mouth. "And dees, well, I think they're so ya can tear and rip things or bite to kill or something... like..." VAMPIYAHHHHH "... erm... yeah... And yeah... there was another... near the front, but the names are all mixed up in my head so... I'm just gonna go with that."

Go ahead, make a fool of yourself, Jake... oyye...



ooc: well... i'm pretty sure no website bared its teeth to show me... so my own brain and mouth *actually spoke with mouth open to get the right sound* oh! and the Jake half of my brain, other than the 16 year old knowledge I originally used...

"The'e wu' are hurrr griin'i'n 'ainly and htuth and hchhewin'..." = "These ones here are for grinding mainly and stuff and chewing"

Jane was offended that Professor Lupa didn't accept her non-sugar candies. She took down more notes instead. She crossed out her drawing of what she thought were dragon's teeth. Now she looked at it, it looked more like dinosaur's teeth.

Vampire teeth?Jane looked wildly at Jacob as he described the type of teeth. She giggled and thought about them herbivor teeth for a little while.. the ones with large diastema.

What's IN the chocolate frogs?!!?!?!?

"Ppsssssssttt!!!Professor Lupa?"Jane nudged her and gave her some Muggle Chocolates instead.