Dragon Species
here are various kinds of dragons in lore around the world. Here is a list of specific kinds of dragons from various traditions:
Xiuhcóatl
The Xiuhcóatl is an Aztec fire serpent. It was related to the cult of Xiuhtecuhtli as their fire god and lord of the year. The serpent played an important role in Aztec religion. The Xiuhcóatl is portrayed with the head of a serpent, short legs ending in claws and a curved snout.
Yinglong (應龍)
Known as the Proper Conduct Dragon, the yinglong is the only Chinese dragon portrayed with wings. The yinglong also lacks scales. It is mentioned frequently in myths about the Three Soverigns and Five Emperors. As with other Chinese dragons, yinglong is a guardian of the waters of the earth and is associated with the clouds of heaven. According to the Yuen Kien Lei Han, dragons gain wings after 1,000 years.
The term yinglong means “dragon shape” or “dragon form”.
Žaltys
A žaltys was a guardian serpent in Baltic tradition. The plural form of žaltys is žalčiai. In 1604, Jesuit missionaries reported:
The people have reached such a stage of madness that they believe that deity exists in reptiles. Therefore they carefully safeguard them, lest someone injure the reptiles kept inside their homes. Superstitiously they believe that harm would come to them, should anyone show disrespect to these reptiles...
The žalčiai are harmless grass snakes, indigenous to the Baltic region. Their scientific name is Natrix tripodontus. The woodland variety is dark gray, while the domestic kind is usually green. Some have two distinctive crescent shapes on their heads.
In the folk tale Eglė the Queen of Serpents, the Serpent King is a žaltys.
Žalčiai are associated with sexual life, and encountering such a snake prophesied marriage or birth. It was sometimes given a privileged place under the bed of a married couple. Fertility was essential to prosperity, so a žaltys was seen to bring happiness and prosperity.
The Sun Goddess, Saule, loved žalčiai. It was written: "Do not leave a dead žaltys on a field, bury it. The sight of a dead žaltys would cause the Sun to cry."
