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Ancient dentition time! Descriptions under cut~

Aberrations are meant to be an ever-changing species, and mutate slightly each time they return to the cauldron. I imagine each time their dentition would change slightly as well. For this generation, their teeth would be most similar to dinosaurian raptors. They have that long muzzle that velociraptors in particular are well known for, but the number/size of their teeth varies. Each head could have different dentition too; eg. one would have all uniform teeth while the other would have long canines. Unlike velociraptors, Aberrations are omnivorous and will eat anything, but this kind of fits with their whole “becoming stronger” thing.

Aethers are… a tricky species to pin down. They’re cat-moth-dragons with the diet of a small lizard - insects and plants. Although their diet is more similar to geckos, based on their art I think their teeth would be a mix between gecko and domestic cat; they wouldn’t have molars and premolars, but they’d have feline-like front canines and incisors. The rest of their teeth would be enlarged, dragon-ified versions of a gecko’s itty bitty conical teeth.

Auraboas next! Although they definitely were designed more with boas in mind based on the name and their body shape, all boas are nonvenomous. There are some species of constricting snakes that are venomous as well, such as those in the genus Ovophis (mountain pit vipers; found in Asia) and Pseudonaja (Australian elapids), so with all that considered Auraboas probably have a mix of boa and pit viper dentition. They’d have fangs for injecting their venom, and sharp, recurved teeth behind the fangs and on the lower jaw.

Banescales are yet another hard species to assign a real-life counterpart to. They look like what you’d see if you searched up “wyvern” in the dictionary, the perfect quintessential example of one. They eat seafood, insects and meat. Their head shape brings dinosaurs to mind, specifically dromaeosaurs (raptors) and small tyrannosaurs. With all this in mind, I think their teeth would be closely packed and serrated, similar to both dinosaur groups. As shown in their art, they’d also have caniniformes (canine-like teeth). 

Dusthides look like skinks to me, specifically desert skinks and night skinks. Like skinks, Dusthides dig and burrow, and prefer to stay underground. Skinks are insectivorous too, so they’re a perfect match! Dusthides would have conical teeth like skinks, with caniniformes.

Gaolers are a weird mish-mash of different animals. They have moose-like antlers, reptilian faces and feet, and big fluffy tails that really remind me of snow leopards or arctic foxes, not to mention those paw pads on their wings. Since they eat both meat and plants, I think they’re teeth would be like an arctic foxes; one of the only omnivores native to the Arctic circle. Their canines would be larger though, more similar to snow leopards.

Sandsurges, similar to Dusthides, prefer living underground and are expert burrowers. Unlike Dusthides, they can actually swim through the sand. Their behaviour is similar to the sandfish skink, known for its ability to swim through sand. Their fans call to mind several species of sail-backed extinct animals - like dimetrodon - and also the modern basilisk lizard. Lastly, their concept seems to be based off of “sand sharks”; a group of fantasy sharks that swim through sand, but also a real group of mackerel sharks known to swim in shallow waters. However, the dentition of sand sharks doesn't really fit with Sandsurges; these sharks have 3 rows of sharp teeth that stick out in multiple directions, very much unlike the art depicting the dragon. I think the Sandsurge’s dentition would be a mix of basilisk and great white shark; both animals have serrated saw-like teeth. Their diet would be more akin to the basilisk, which eats both meat and insects. They’d also have caniniformes.

Undertides, our serpentine friends, are based off of moray eels! They pull from several species, particularly the ribbon eel (specifically the protrusions on the lower jaw) and the giant moray. They have large razor sharp teeth and, like real moray eels, would have a hidden pharyngeal jaw!

At last we arrive at Veilspuns, which were by far the hardest one for me to figure out. They’re like… fairy kelpie deer dragons?? With their ears, horns and snout shape in mind, I think their molars and premolars would be most similar to the marsh deer of South America. Seeing as they also eat flesh and bugs in addition to plants, they’d also have sharp elongated canines; similar to how kelpies are usually depicted in art. 

Thanks to everyone who put in their input on what Veilspuns most looked like! Deer and horse definitely seem like the two most likely creatures for their inspiration. 

I hope y’all enjoyed this series! I’ve been thinking of doing sheets going into each dragon breed's body plan (and also some headcanons of mine) if that is of any interest! ^^

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I'm almost finished with dragon dentition; ancient edition! However, I'm having a lot of trouble trying to figure out which animal Veilspuns are most like in terms of their teeth. So I wanted to ask the Tumblr FR community, when you look at Veilspuns, what animal comes to mind?

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No idea what happened with the formatting on this (I suspect uploading it from mobile messed it up somehow; lesson learned lmao) but it's been fixed!

Kinda went crazy on dragon teeth anatomy! Biology geeking out under the cut

Bogsneak dragons are very crocodilian in appearance, and the fact that they prefer swampy environments definitely lends to this. Out of all the crocodilians, I’d say they resemble alligators the most due to the thicker, rounded snout, and the way the upper teeth poke out from their jaws; Crocodiles visually show both upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed, while alligators only show upper teeth. Their teeth structure is like alligators; they’d possess around 74-80 sturdy, razor-sharp teeth specialized for vice-gripping their prey. Unlike alligators, Bogsneaks possess a forked tongue. It reminds me very much of a Komodo dragon's tongue, and I imagine they would use it to taste air as well. Bogsneaks eat meat and plants. Alligators are carnivores, but they have also been reported to eat various fruits as well!

Coatls are easy in one sense; they’re obviously snake dragons, but the question is… what snake? I’d argue that they’re visually similar to cobras, with the feather crest resembling a cobra hood, the head being vaguely cobra-shaped, and the fangs poking out of their mouth (cobras have permanently erect fangs). There’s two big differences here though; for one, Coatls are not said to possess venom. For another, Coatls only eat seafood, while cobras eat terrestrial and semi-aquatic prey. However, there are several snakes in the Elapidae family (cobra family) that eat seafood… sea snakes! In fact, there is one type of sea snake that is nonvenomous, but it only eats fish eggs; Coatls would have a diet more similar to other sea snakes, which eat fish, eels, marine gastropods, and other marine invertebrates. Coatl dentition would be a mix of cobras and sea snakes; they’d have the big fangs in the front with several smaller teeth behind the fangs on the upper jaw. 

Fae dragons are insectivorous, and I think they’re most similar to geckos in terms of diet and dentition, as geckos are also insectivores. Faes would have rows of small, sharp, conical teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. I specifically researched geckos for Fae dragons, but if you wanted to go the more mammalian route, I’d say shrews are the best fit.

Fathom dragons are an interesting case. They have external ears like a pinniped, echolocate underwater like cetaceans, have amphibious gills, and travel in pods. I’d say they’re dentition is a mix of sea lions and orcas. They’d have the big canines that sea lions have, but the rest of their teeth would be more similar to orcas; interlocking and conical. However, Fathom dragons are omnivorous and eat plants and seafood; sea lions and orcas are both purely carnivorous and have not been seen eating plant matter of any kind. The plant part of their diet I think would be similar to manatees, which graze on seagrasses and other aquatic plants.

Like Bogsneaks, Guardian dragons look quite crocodilian in their tooth structure. I’d say they lean more towards crocodiles due to their teeth poking from both the upper and lower jaws when the mouth is closed. They’d also have big canines similar to leopard seals. Guardians will eat just about anything; plants, flesh or bugs. Crocodiles mainly eat insects when they’re juveniles, slowly transitioning to bigger prey as they age. Like alligators, they also occasionally consume fruit.

Imperial dragons always looked very fox-like to me, and like foxes they have a diverse diet. Foxes eat mammals, birds, insects, fruits, grains and veggies. Some red foxes have even been observed fishing! That ticks off all the boxes for the Imperial diet. They’d have dentition like a canid as well, with pronounced carnassials for shearing and canines for gripping prey.

There’s a few things to take note of when it comes to Mirrors: they hunt in packs, they run their prey down, they are carnivorous and they originate from The Abiding Boneyard - an arid wasteland. I’d say they’re opportunistic predators, and will scavenge as well as hunt. Their diet and tooth structure would be similar to that of hyenas, and they’d possess bone-crushing premolars that spotted hyenas are well known for. Spotted hyenas also hunt in packs, and are known for their endurance when they hunt, chasing down prey until their quarry is exhausted; a perfect match-up for Mirrors. Their canines would be pointier than a spotted hyenas, and would be more similar to a jackal or wolf in appearance.

Nocturnes are based on bats, which is apparent based on their diet and overall appearance. I think their dentition would be most similar to the spectral bat, the largest carnivorous bat in the world. It consumes birds and rodents as well as insects, which perfectly lines up with Nocturnes!

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Part 2 of my dragon dentition series 😊 ancients coming next! Teef info under the cut

Obelisks take inspiration from Chinese guardian lion statues, with their voluminous manes, big paws and fierce face. As such, their teeth would be similar to a lion’s dentition, with massive canines and carnassials. Although lions mainly eat land-based animals, they are also opportunistic and will sometimes eat fish and even insects. This doesn’t make up for any large part of their diet, however, and in this way they differ from Obelisks which only eat seafood and bugs. Jaguars make a better match for Obelisks in regards to food, as they eat aquatic prey more often than lions do, with one remote population of jaguars in Brazil primarily feeding on aquatic reptiles and fish.

Pearlcatchers were pretty tricky to pin down. Their body and face look almost horse or deer-shaped. Their diet is insects and plants. The only creature that came to mind for Pearlcatchers were qilins; one-horned legendary beasts from Chinese mythology. They’re fully scaled, with dragon-like faces and a body shaped like a horse, deer or goat. This seems to fit Pearlcatcher’s the most, but figuring out their dentition is another matter. There’s not really a 1-to-1 comparative animal I can base their teeth on, so I think they’d be a mish-mash of different tooth structures. They’d have larger canines, maybe like a musk deer, but the rest of their teeth would follow a more herbivorous design. They’d have large, flat molars and premolars for grinding up plants, probably similar to a horse or goat. 

Ridgebacks are basically land-sharks, no question. Their diet and face says it all. Although their snouts look more like goblin sharks to me, I don’t think they’d have those creepy mouths. Their dentition would be more like a great white; they’d have a mouth full of serrated, razor sharp teeth. Like actual sharks, Ridgeback’s would have a reserve of extra teeth in their jaws. 

Skydancer dragons present another tricky situation. They’re bird dragons, and eat plants and insects like Pearlcatchers. Although some official art shows them with teeth, I don’t think they’d actually have them. The closest structure to teeth that's found in birds is the tomia, which is the cutting edge of the upper and lower beak. Tomia is not made of enamel, but of cartilage. Seed-eating birds use this to slice through seed hulls, and birds of prey like falcons have a single sharp projection to rip meat and insects apart. Geese have tomia on their tongues, which pushes the food back towards their throat as they eat. Skydancers probably have a gizzard as well, as the tomia is not enough on its own to grind food down completely. It was hard to figure out what the Skydancer’s beak would be most similar to; out of all the more hook beaked birds, it reminded me most of vultures or eagles, although in diet they do not match them at all. Skydancer beaks are a mish-mash of different bird characteristics that I thought would fit them the most, rather than based on a single bird in particular.

Snappers are tortoise dragons, and like tortoises they’d have ridges in their beaks to help chew food. The official lore states that their beaks are “lined with molars that begin halfway down the jaw and continue all the way to the back”. Real-life tortoises don’t have teeth, so I’d imagine these structures would be like the tomia of birds. Their diet would be a mix of what tortoises and turtles eat, as Snappers eat both plants and seafood.

Spirals really remind me of ferrets, with their noodley bodies and energetic, chaotic nature. Like ferrets, they’d have sharp little canines, incisors and carnassials for shredding meat. Ferrets mainly eat meat, but will also eat bugs too, which matches up with the Spirals diet.

Tundra dragons are currently the only purely herbivorous dragon. The lore states that they have “impressive canine teeth used for combat. The majority of their jaw is set with flat, wide molars, perfect for grinding up scrub.” They’d be most similar to musk deers in dentition, with both male and female Tundras having the enlarged canines characteristic of male musk deer. The canines wouldn’t be as thin or long as a musk deer; they would be thick, robust, and fit more snugly inside the mouth. 

Last for the modern breeds, we have the Wildclaws. They’re raptor dragons, based on the Dromaeosaurids - raptor dinosaurs (velociraptors, utahraptors, etc). Like raptors, Wildclaws would have widely spaced and serrated teeth. They’d be fairly equal in shape, and would curve backwards.  Raptors were carnivorous, which fits with the Wildclaw’s meat diet.

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Kinda went crazy on dragon teeth anatomy! Biology geeking out under the cut

Bogsneak dragons are very crocodilian in appearance, and the fact that they prefer swampy environments definitely lends to this. Out of all the crocodilians, I’d say they resemble alligators the most due to the thicker, rounded snout, and the way the upper teeth poke out from their jaws; Crocodiles visually show both upper and lower teeth when the mouth is closed, while alligators only show upper teeth. Their teeth structure is like alligators; they’d possess around 74-80 sturdy, razor-sharp teeth specialized for vice-gripping their prey. Unlike alligators, Bogsneaks possess a forked tongue. It reminds me very much of a Komodo dragon's tongue, and I imagine they would use it to taste air as well. Bogsneaks eat meat and plants. Alligators are carnivores, but they have also been reported to eat various fruits as well!

Coatls are easy in one sense; they’re obviously snake dragons, but the question is… what snake? I’d argue that they’re visually similar to cobras, with the feather crest resembling a cobra hood, the head being vaguely cobra-shaped, and the fangs poking out of their mouth (cobras have permanently erect fangs). There’s two big differences here though; for one, Coatls are not said to possess venom. For another, Coatls only eat seafood, while cobras eat terrestrial and semi-aquatic prey. However, there are several snakes in the Elapidae family (cobra family) that eat seafood… sea snakes! In fact, there is one type of sea snake that is nonvenomous, but it only eats fish eggs; Coatls would have a diet more similar to other sea snakes, which eat fish, eels, marine gastropods, and other marine invertebrates. Coatl dentition would be a mix of cobras and sea snakes; they’d have the big fangs in the front with several smaller teeth behind the fangs on the upper jaw. 

Fae dragons are insectivorous, and I think they’re most similar to geckos in terms of diet and dentition, as geckos are also insectivores. Faes would have rows of small, sharp, conical teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. I specifically researched geckos for Fae dragons, but if you wanted to go the more mammalian route, I’d say shrews are the best fit.

Fathom dragons are an interesting case. They have external ears like a pinniped, echolocate underwater like cetaceans, have amphibious gills, and travel in pods. I’d say they’re dentition is a mix of sea lions and orcas. They’d have the big canines that sea lions have, but the rest of their teeth would be more similar to orcas; interlocking and conical. However, Fathom dragons are omnivorous and eat plants and seafood; sea lions and orcas are both purely carnivorous and have not been seen eating plant matter of any kind. The plant part of their diet I think would be similar to manatees, which graze on seagrasses and other aquatic plants.

Like Bogsneaks, Guardian dragons look quite crocodilian in their tooth structure. I’d say they lean more towards crocodiles due to their teeth poking from both the upper and lower jaws when the mouth is closed. They’d also have big canines similar to leopard seals. Guardians will eat just about anything; plants, flesh or bugs. Crocodiles mainly eat insects when they’re juveniles, slowly transitioning to bigger prey as they age. Like alligators, they also occasionally consume fruit.

Imperial dragons always looked very fox-like to me, and like foxes they have a diverse diet. Foxes eat mammals, birds, insects, fruits, grains and veggies. Some red foxes have even been observed fishing! That ticks off all the boxes for the Imperial diet. They’d have dentition like a canid as well, with pronounced carnassials for shearing and canines for gripping prey.

There’s a few things to take note of when it comes to Mirrors: they hunt in packs, they run their prey down, they are carnivorous and they originate from The Abiding Boneyard - an arid wasteland. I’d say they’re opportunistic predators, and will scavenge as well as hunt. Their diet and tooth structure would be similar to that of hyenas, and they’d possess bone-crushing premolars that spotted hyenas are well known for. Spotted hyenas also hunt in packs, and are known for their endurance when they hunt, chasing down prey until their quarry is exhausted; a perfect match-up for Mirrors. Their canines would be pointier than a spotted hyenas, and would be more similar to a jackal or wolf in appearance.

Nocturnes are based on bats, which is apparent based on their diet and overall appearance. I think their dentition would be most similar to the spectral bat, the largest carnivorous bat in the world. It consumes birds and rodents as well as insects, which perfectly lines up with Nocturnes!

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Part 3!!! @inprogresspokemon

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more done! @inprogresspokemon hope you like these ones ^^

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some dual types eeveelutions for @inprogresspokemon ! hope you like em 🥺 i'll probably do some more cause these are a ton of fun

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Brave Rian

been on a dark crystal kick lately, best fantasy series i've ever seen 😭