This is just my personal thoughts on Dragons and trying to apply some forms of logic to them. I'll be asking questions, most likely in no logical order, and will be coming up with answers. You're all welcome to participate or add feed back, or just chat in general about DRAGONS and my funny ideas about them.

First, I need to specify which type of Dragon I'm talking about, since many cultures have creatures that fall under the name or concept...

I will be mostly dealing with concepts revolving around the European variety.

Lets break them down right quick into their component parts...

Heads - Most have only a single head. They also seem to have very high intellect and keen eye sight.

Neck - Often described as slender and snake like. Very muscular.

Pelvis and Legs - LEGS! I've got LEGS! Ok. Dragons are usually depicted with FOUR legs, but I'll be referring to their Hind Legs when I say 'Legs' or 'Hindquarters'

Shoulders and Arms - Forequarters, or Arms, which are sometimes depicted as legs also.

Front Feet - Though at most times Dragons are shown using all four feet for maximum ease of mobility, I'm going to also describe a dragons fore feet as 'Hands'. They are often described as having functional use and the ability to manipulate objects.

Back Feet - The hind feet of a Dragon are best described as rugged and functional. Or maybe not. I've not put too much thought into these to be honest.

Claws - Most likely a very tough material comparable to other predatory animals.

Scales - This is one of the defining feature of a Dragon. This is ALSO one of the things that I have put thought into recently.

What is a Dragons Scales composed of? Lets drop some of the mythology for this, and assume that they are not IMPOSSIBLE to over come, but are simply really, REALLY tough.

Lets look at some of the options that the natural world offers.

Pangolins - The best way that I can think to describe these creatures are Majestic Armored Anteaters. They have an overlapping armor composed of Keratin, which can also be found in the horns of other mammalian species.

Sharks - A Sharks Skin has dermal denticles (Skin Teeth). There skin is LITERALLY COVERED IN TINY TEETH. Awesome, no?

Birds - The way a birds feathers over lap fits my thoughts on how a Dragons Scales ought to be. That being said, I'm sure Feathered Dragons will come up eventually.

What about replacing Scales? Would Dragons replace them all at once, similar to a Snake shedding it's skin? Or would they Molt like a Bird? Or do Scales grow continuously, like Fingernails... Only being replaced once they have been badly damaged or removed?

And where does a Dragons Scales derive their color from?

These are my personal thoughts.

Dragons Scales are Keratin Based, spaced like Feathers... And NOW for the color.

For me, a Dragons Color is dependent on the minerals in the Dragons diet, small deposits of which appear in their scales... making them very valuable, depending on the mineral.

Here's a chart! It's based on the tarnished/oxidized version of the metals.

Greenish Scales - Copper Reddish Scales - Iron Black Scales - Silver Gold Scales - Gold Silver Scales - Platinum White Scales - Titanium

Some other options could be...

Blue Scales - Cobalt

More thoughts to come!