Quote:That was actually the kind of thing I was looking for...
(Short versions unless people actually want me to submit three pages worth of biology and cultural notes.)
Anyway, this particular thread was spawned by my reading the latest of Naomi Novik's Temeraire books and thinking about ways that a relatively physics-grounded dragon might be allowed to breath lightning (fire is simple; hydrocarbons plus phosphorus). What I came up with is, first you give your critter a really long tongue. I mean really long - anchor it at the front of the mouth like a frog's, double it back into a cavity in the chest like one of those flower-drinking bats, then arrange the muscle structure like a chameleon or something. Depending on the size and relative proportions of your dragon, you could be looking at anything up to a reach of a couple of hundred feet.
Now line the entire length of that tongue, and possibly much of its body as well, with large, powerful electric organs. Considering that electric eels are usually less than three feet long, the amperage and voltage involved in that much generating tissue would likely be... impressive. Quite possibly enough so to spark noticeably even without or before physical contact.
I've also got quite a number of different questions and ideas about four-winged birds, but for the moment I've got an excellent book I'd like to get back to. ^_^
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"Reseeestunce ees fiutil. Yoo weeel bee Useemooletud. Borg Borg Borg."
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."