Some dragons live in palaces under the ocean, while others can only be found in caves and inside mountains, such as Smaug in JRR Tolkein's ' The Hobbit.'Īs folklorist Carol Rose's book ' Giants, Monsters, & Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth' (Norton, 2001), dragons 'have composite features from many other beasts, such as the head of an elephant in India, that of a lion or bird of prey in the Middle East, or numerous heads of reptiles such as serpents. Some are only a few feet long others span miles. Some dragons can speak or breathe fire others can't. Though most people can easily picture a dragon, people's ideas and descriptions of dragons vary dramatically, according to Grunge. (Image credit: Getty/ Forrest Anderson) Different types of dragons Dancers dress as traditional Chinese dragons at an annual temple festival.
