Dragon Breed Physical Characteristics

It should be noted that not all of the dragon breeds appearing in the Temeraire series have been given detail as to their appearance. As a result, many artists have had to guess what some of these breeds may look like. Because this runs the risk of potentially conflicting with any new information that may be published in a later book, this page lists the known appearances of the dragon breeds that have been described, and conjectural notes as to what the other breeds may look like.

Undescribed Breeds

This subsection lists suggestions as to what the breeds may look like, based on anything from descriptive elements of their names, or depictions of mythological dragons that share their name, and in some cases, real creatures that share their name.

Akhal-Teke

The name means "Celestial horse" or "Pure Teke" depending on translation. The name is pronounced ahalˈtеkje in the Turkmen language. It is also the name of a horse breed originating in Turkmenistan. It recieved the name "Akhal-Teke" when Russia conquered Turkmenistan in 1881 and named the horse breed after the Teke tribe that lived near the Akhal oasis. The horse-breed Akhal-Teke is known for its speed, endurance and adaptation to its desert climate. It is also known for having a metallic sheen to its coat. It could be that the dragon breed shares these abilities.

Alaman

All that is known about this breed is that their eggs are pale lemon-yellow.

Bright Copper

One of the parent strands of the Regal Copper breed, all that is known of the Bright Copper breed is that they share a similar colouring with the Cauchador Real breed, with which they were bred to achieve the similarly-coloured Regal Copper. It is believed that they are Middleweight dragons. "Bright Copper" is also the common name of the Australian butterfly Paralucia aurifer, first described in 1848. Each wing has an upper pattern of a bright orange triangular center surrounded by wide dark brown margins; the undersides are duller brown with irregular black speckles.

Cauchador Real

One of the parent strands of the Regal Copper breed, they are Heavyweight dragons known to share a similar colouring with the Bright Copper breed, with which they were bred with to achieve the similarly-coloured Regal Copper.

Chequered Nettle

The name Chequered Nettle is fairly descriptive. "Nettle" alludes to a Stinging Nettle, and probably refers to the barbed tail of the breed, while "Chequered" presumably means that the breed has patterning similar to that of a checkerboard. It is likely closely related to the Defendeur-Brave, a French breed that shares the trait of having a tail that can be used as a weapon, however, while the Chequered Nettle's tail is spiked, the Defendeur-Brave's tail is merely hooked. Both dragon breeds are Heavyweights. In real life, two animals are known to have "Chequered" as part of their name; the Chequered Skipper, a butterfly, and the Chequered Keelback, a snake. Both creatures are yellow-coloured with brown-black spots in the pattern of a checkerboard.

Copacati

In Incan mythology, Copacati is the name of an lake goddess known for her destructive powers.

Ironwing

This breed was one of the three parent strands that made up the Longwing breed. For this reason, it could resemble the Longwing breed to some extent. No other information is known about it, but it is presumably a Light-Middleweight dragon, with the name suggesting greyish wings, although this could refer instead to the wing layout of the breed.

Ka-Riu

In Japanese mythology, the Ka-Riu was a small dragon; seven feet long, that was scarlet-coloured, and in some versions made of fire.

Lindorm

Lindorm is a word that originates from Scandanavia, and can also be translated as Lindworm. A Lindworm is a mythological dragon that is generally depicted with two front legs and wings, but no back legs, only a serpent-like tail. This could mean that the Lindorm breed has a sinuous body, but it could also just be the eqivalent of the mythological creature in the Temeraire canon.

Pecheur-Couronne

The name "Pecheur-Raye" translates as "Crowned Fisherman", which presumably means that the head of this breed has some form of ornamentation, such as horns. This breed is also said to be vaguely related to the Grey Widowmaker, so they may share a vague similiarity.

Pecheur-Raye

The name "Pecheur-Raye" translates as "Striped Fisherman", which presumably means that the breed is striped. This breed is also said to be vaguely related to the Grey Widowmaker, so they may share a vague similiarity.

Sharpspitter

This breed was one of the three parent strands that made up the Longwing breed. For this reason, it could resemble the Longwing breed to some extent. No other information is known about it, save for the fact that it was considered "too small and low-flying" to be of any use to the Aerial Corps, which technically places its in the "Courier" class of Lightweight dragons.

Sui Riu

In Japanese mythology, the Sui Riu was a Dragon King that commanded rain, meaning it was sometimes known as the "rain dragon". When in pain, it caused the rain to be coloured red. It is safe to assume that this is one of the largest of the Japanese Dragons, as large size would befit a dragon that was "King" of all others.

Xenica

There are several Australian butterflies with "Xenica" in their common names from the parent genera Geitoneura, Oreixenica, and Nesoxenica. The first named variety was the Ringed Xenica in 1805, with marbled orange/black wings marked with white-centered black eyespots.

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