Editing Talk:Dragon Breed Physical Characteristics

Okay, I haven't really finished writing this page yet, but it's here specifically so we can point out which depictions of dragons on this wiki are done from descriptions from the books, and which have been made up. I still think that the Chequered Nettle breed is incorrectly drawn (Purple and Striped, when two animals with a similar name are Yellow/Brown and Chequered) and to prevent people mixing canon material with fan work and potentially creating conflicting fan work when official information is published, I'm starting this page to sort things out. 

At the moment, I've only grouped the names, and even then the grouping is based on my memory of descriptions, so I could be wrong in places. [[User:Almaron|Almaron]] 21:23, 22 September 2010 (PDT)

:Hrm.  Something to keep in mind is that we're writing this wiki like it is an encyclopedia that could exist in the Temeraire universe itself (except for meta pages).  So we generally want to avoid words like "canonical" and "non-canonical" (or similar words) in the articles themselves, and find other ways to say what you're trying to get across

:Fan art is a bit different -- it's more of a meta-category, or artistic renderings of what could have been, so don't worry about what you see as inaccuracies in artwork. They aren't meant to be substitutes for photos. - [[User:Whitearrow|whitearrow]] 11:20, 23 September 2010 (PDT)

::I know, but I've seen several fan pictures of breeds that are clearly derived from the pictures on this wiki, and it may be slightly misleading to have pictures like this listed with the rest of the facts of each breed. Perhaps we should change the captions of the pictures to say that it's not official.

::Basically, by doing this, we can ensure that future images will be accurate. Plus, it's sure to help out those who are starting a new image from scratch. [[User:Almaron|Almaron]] 15:45, 23 September 2010 (PDT)

:::Just wandered back here and felt I should add that many of the dragons were just names with no description in the first few books.  Most of my dragons were drawn before book 4 was published.  So when I colored my Chequered Nettle there wasn't anything that said it wasn't purple. :) (And in my opinion it has really big white checks not stripes).  Since then, the breed has been described but I like my purple one so I didn't update it.  Art projects based on books always have "canonical" flaws due to artist prerogative or just not having enough info when you are working.  If you feel my drawing doesn't reflect the most recent data (which it doesn't), by all means draw your own. :) --[[User:Mooir|Mooir]] 20:10, 17 October 2011 (MDT)

Right, there's just been a statement in Ask Naomi saying that many of the breeds have been inspired by butterflies or birds, as some of us have already noted. I think it's fair to say that the colouring will match. We should update this page with conjectural notes regarding the colouring. [[User:Almaron|Almaron]] 02:44, 20 August 2011 (MDT)

== Sources for Dragon Breed Names? ==

I haven't had much time to work on it, but I started searching the internet to see if I could find real-life animals that the Dragon Breeds correspond with, as Naomi Novik has said that many were inspired by Birds and Butterflies. What little information I found on my brief searches is here, and it can certainly be expanded upon in due time.

It could be worth noting that the animal's colouring doesn't necessarily match that of the Dragon Breed; there is a Longwing Butterfly, but its colouring is completely different from the Longwing Dragon colouration. Alternatively, the name could just be a coincidence and the Dragon Breed not linked to the Butterfly in the slightest.

*Akhal-Teke - Horse
*Alaman - ?
*Anglewing - Butterfly
*Berghexe - Butterfly (Has different name in English)
*Bright Copper - Butterfly
*Cauchador Real - ?
*Celestial - Mythological Creature
*Chanson-de-Guerre -
*Chasseur-Vocifere -
*Chequered Nettle - Perhaps inspired by the Chequered Skipper?
*Copacati - Incan Goddess
*Dakota - Native American People
*Defendeur-Brave -
*Emerald Glass -
*Flamme-de-Gloire -
*Flecha-del-Fuego -
*Fleur-de-Nuit -
*Garde-de-Lyon - ?
*Grand Chevalier -
*Grey Copper - Butterfly
*Grey Widowmaker -
*Greyling - Butterfly?
*Honneur-d'Or -
*Imperial - Mythological Creature?
*Ironwing -
*Jade -
*Ka-Riu - Mythological Creature
*Kazilik - Possibly named from Kazilik Mountain, from the "Book of Dede Korkut" [http://fightingfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Kazilik]; a 9th century Oghuz Turk story.
*Li-Lung - Historical Figure
*Lindorm - Mythological Creature
*Longwing - Possibly Butterfly, although colouring does not match
*Malachite Reaper
*Mauerfuchs - Butterfly (Has different name in English)
*Papillon Noir - Presumably Butterfly
*Parnassian - Butterfly
*Pascal's Blue - Perhaps Historical, perhaps inspired by a member of Subfamily Polyommatinae
*Pecheur-Couronne
*Pecheur-Raye
*Petit Chevalier
*Plein-Vite
*Pou-de-Ciel - Plane
*Regal Copper - ?
*Roi-de-Vitesse
*Scarlet Flower
*Sharpspitter
*Shen-Lung - Mythological Creature
*Sui Riu - Mythological Creature
*Winchester 
*Xenica - Butterfly
*Yellow Reaper

[[User:Almaron|Almaron]] 02:47, 6 October 2011 (MDT)

: I'm still wondering whether the two "Pecheurs" may be derived from kingfishers-- the "Pecheur Couronne" (lit. "crowned fisher") from the Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris; actual French name ''Martin-pêcheur tacheté''); the Pecheur-Raye (lit. "striped fisher") from the Striped Kingfisher (Halcyon chelicuti; actual French name ''Martin-chasseur strié'').  [http://www.mhref.com/breeds/akhal-teke/history.html This page] mentions "Alaman" as a Turkish term for "raiding" horses, often of the Akhal-Teke breed; [http://www.akhalteke.info/pre-1900-type-1-63-en.html this page] translates "alaman-at" as "warhorses", again in the context of describing Akhal-Teke horses.  --[[User:Wombat1138|Wombat1138]] 13:18, 8 October 2011 (MDT)