Biology

Drakonians (known taxonomically as Dracones sapien, Latin for "wise dragon" or "knowing dragon") are the only living species in the Draco genus of bipedal amphibians. Anatomically modern Drakonians.

Drakonians have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the hands for manipulating objects, has allowed Drakonians to make far greater use of tools than any other living species on their homeworld. Other higher-level thought processes of Drakonians, such as self-awareness, rationality, and sapience, are considered to be defining features of what constitutes a "person".

Unlike most amphibians, Drakonians are social animals. Drakonians are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, the exchange of ideas, and organization. Drakonians create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between Drakonians have established an extremely wide variety of values, social norms, and rituals, which together form the basis of Drakonian society. With individuals widespread in every continent of the homeworld, Drakonians are a cosmopolitan species. In Y186, the Drakonian population was estimated to be 21.820656 Quadrillion.

Drakonians are noted for their desire to understand and influence their environment, seeking to explain and manipulate phenomena through science, philosophy, mythology, and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills, which are passed down culturally; Drakonians are the only species known on their homeworld to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves, and use numerous other technologies. The study of Drakonians is the scientific discipline of anthropology.

Anatomy
Drakonian body types vary substantially. Although body size is largely determined by genes, it is also significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet and exercise. The average height of an adult Drakonian is 2.1336m to 2.7432m (7 to 9 feet) tall, although this varies significantly from place to place and depending on ethnic origin. The average mass of an adult Drakonian is 232.048286–396.877357 kg (511.5789–874.9648 lbs) for females and 326.5865–514.700334 kg (720–1134.72 lbs) for males. Weight can also vary greatly (e.g. obesity). The very high body masses is due to Drakonians having nearly 3.2 times the muscle density of a human of the same size. Unlike most other amphibians, Drakonians are capable of fully bipedal locomotion, thus leaving their arms available for manipulating objects using their hands, aided especially by opposable thumbs. And due to their unique internal organs and structures, capable of limited powered flight, and extensive gliding as a result of their 4.8768 m (16 ft) wing span.

Although Drakonians appear hairless compared to primates, with notable hair growth occurring chiefly on the top of the head, underarms and pubic area, the average Drakonian has more hair follicles on his or her body than the average chimpanzee. The main distinction is that Drakonian hairs are shorter, finer, and less heavily pigmented than the average chimpanzee's, thus making them harder to see.

The hue of Drakonian skin and hair is determined by the presence of pigments called melanin. Drakonian skin hues can range from very dark brown to very pale pink. Drakonian hair ranges from white to brown to red to most commonly black. This depends on the amount of melanin (an effective sun blocking pigment) in the skin and hair, with hair melanin concentrations in hair fading with increased age, leading to grey or even white hair. Most researchers believe that skin darkening was an adaptation that evolved as a protection against ultraviolet solar radiation. The skin pigmentation of contemporary Drakonians is geographically stratified, and in general correlates with the level of ultraviolet radiation. Drakonian skin also has a capacity to darken (sun tanning) in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

The construction of the Drakonian pelvis differs from other amphibians, as do the toes. As a result, Drakonians are slower for short distances than most other animals, but are among the best long-distance runners in the their native animal kingdom.

Constituents of the Drakonian body in a person weighing 408.3923665 kg. Drakonians have proportionately shorter palates and much smaller teeth than most reptiles. They are the only amphibians to have multiple molars and flat flush canine teeth. Drakonians have characteristically crowded teeth, with gaps from lost teeth usually closing up quickly in young specimens. Drakonians also have a crocodile-like rear palette, and armor plating in their mouths.

Internally, Drakonian anatomy is markedly different from that of Humans. There is a great deal more multiple redundancy in their organs. This allows Drakonians to survive severe injuries in battle. They have thirty ribs, two livers, a six chambered heart that is three times the size of the average human's, two lungs, honey-comb structured bones and cartilage, and even redundant neural function and multiple stomachs. Unlike in humans, the natural gut bacteria of Drakonians produce a hydrogen-methane combination through the digestion of food, rather than methane. These lighter-than-air gases are stored in to bladder like organs all throughout the body, totaling 144 kg of gases, giving them extremely high adaptability for flight. Drakonians also have Palladium based blood. Drakonian retinas are approximately 1.5 times as thick, giving them near 6 times farther vision.

Genetics
Drakonians are a eukaryotic species. Each diploid cell has two sets of 32 chromosomes, each set received from one parent. There are 31 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes. By present estimates, Drakonians have approximately 27,827–34,783 genes. Drakonians have an odd sex determination system, they use the XY sex-determination system by default, so that females have the sex chromosomes XX and males have XY. . However, sometimes temperature can increase the likelihood of a sex. With higher temperatures increasing the likelihood of a male, and lower temperatures increasing the likelihood of a female.

Life cycle
The Drakonian life cycle is similar to that of placental mammals. The zygote divides inside the female's uterus to become an embryo, which over a period of fifty-eight weeks (13 months) of gestation becomes a fetus. At this point, most modern cultures recognize the baby as a person entitled to the full protection of the law. After this span of time, the fully grown fetus is birthed from the woman's body and breathes independently as an infant for the first time.

Compared with other species, Drakonian childbirth is dangerous. Painful labors lasting twenty-four hours or more are not uncommon and sometimes leads to the death of the mother, or the child. This is because of both the relatively large fetal head circumference (for housing the brain) and the mother's relatively narrow pelvis (a trait required for successful bipedalism, by way of natural selection).

Helpless at birth, Drakonians continue to grow for some years, typically reaching sexual maturity at 10 to 12 years of age. Females continue to develop physically until around the age of 25, whereas male development continues until around age 40. The Drakonian life span can be split into a number of stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood and old age. The lengths of these stages, however, have varied across cultures and time periods.

Drakonians are one of the few species in which females undergo menopause. It has been proposed that menopause increases a woman's overall reproductive success by allowing her to invest more time and resources in her existing offspring and/or their children (the grandmother hypothesis), rather than by continuing to bear children into old age.

Race and Ethnicity
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Drakonians often categorize themselves in terms of race or ethnicity, sometimes on the basis of differences in appearance. Drakonian racial categories have been based on both ancestry and visible traits, especially facial features, skull shape, skin color and hair texture. The predominance of genetic variation occurs within racial groups, with only 10 to 20% of total variation occurring between groups. Ethnic groups are defined by linguistic, cultural, ancestral, national or regional ties. Self-identification with an ethnic group is usually based on kinship and descent. Race and ethnicity are among major factors in social identity.

Diet
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Drakonians are omnivorous, capable of consuming a wide variety of plant and animal material. Varying with available food sources in regions of habitation, and also varying with cultural and religious norms, Drakonian groups have adopted a range of diets, from purely vegetarian to primarily carnivorous. In some cases, dietary restrictions in Drakonians can lead to deficiency diseases; however, stable Drakonian groups have adapted to many dietary patterns through both genetic specialization and cultural conventions to use nutritionally balanced food sources. The Drakonian diet is prominently reflected in Drakonian culture, and has led to the development of food science.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;">In general, Drakonians can survive for one to four weeks without food, depending on stored body fat. Survival without water is usually limited to seven or ten days.

Sleep
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Drakonians are generally diurnal. The average sleep requirement is between two and four hours per day for an adult and five to seven hours per day for a child.

Psychology
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;">The Drakonian brain, the focal point of the central nervous system in Drakonians, controls the peripheral nervous system. In addition to controlling "lower", involuntary, or primarily autonomic activities such as respiration and digestion, it is also the locus of "higher" order functioning such as thought, reasoning, and abstraction. These cognitive processes constitute the mind, and, along with their behavioral consequences, are studied in the field of psychology.

Consciousness and thought
<p style="margin-bottom: 0.2in;">The Drakonian brain perceives the external world through the senses, and each individual Drakonian is influenced greatly by his or her experiences, leading to subjective views of existence and the passage of time. Drakonians are variously said to possess consciousness, self-awareness, and a mind, which correspond roughly to the mental processes of thought. These are said to possess qualities such as self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one's environment. The extent to which the mind constructs or experiences the outer world is a matter of debate, as are the definitions and validity of many of the terms used above.