There is a small, obscure island in the Arabian Sea that is home to two notable endemic species: the
There is a small, obscure island in the Arabian Sea that is home to two notable endemic species: the aži, or Persian dragon, and the rabbit-like mi'raj, a somewhat primitive cousin to unicorns. Mainland Persian dragons and another larger, lighter colored subspecies were once found across South Asia, and for a time were thought to be extinct west of Vietnam until a population was rediscovered on Jazirat-al-Tinnen, literally the “dragon’s island”. Unique among eastern dragons for its relatively small, round tail and its eagerness to climb trees, it is still a fairly accomplished swimmer and is known to ambush prey from the water. According to legend, Alexander the Great visited this island to slay a local dragon that was terrorizing the natives, who accomplished this by poisoning the beast. One of the gifts he received for slaying the dragon was a captured mi'raj, which may arguably have been a more fearsome creature than the dragon, for it is extremely aggressive when it has young to protect and will drive off creatures many times its size with its single, very sharp horn. It is believed that dragons swam to the island from India no more than a few thousand years ago, for they still bear striking resemblance to their extinct mainland cousins. Animals of the same genus as the mi'raj (cornuceleres), however, have not been seen on earth since the late Miocene. -- source link
#speculative evolution#speculative biology#dragons#unicorn