Appearance
The smallest known dragon on Earth, the Saharan Sand Dragon is a mere 50cm from nose to tail. Their wings are each nearly as large as the rest of their sandy brown body (tail excluded), and they have a wingspan of around 80cm.
Life Cycle
Almost nothing is known about the Saharan Sand Dragon’s life cycle is currently known. Only once have a pair of mating sand dragons been spotted, and it is widely believed (though not fully confirmed) that they lay their eggs in the less barren parts of the desert, such as near oases. (Baby sand dragons were once reported in an oasis, but actual eggs have never been located.)
It’s not confirmed that they burn their dead like other dragons, but it’s currently assumed due to a lack of Sand Dragon corpses and skeletons.
Diet
As far as is currently known, sand dragons feast primarily on snakes and supplement their diet with insects as available. In addition, burn marks have occasionally been spotted on cacti, leading to the suggestion that they may use the huge plants as a source of water. Whether the scarcity of burn marks indicates that they reuse the same cactus repeatedly, or that the cactus heals quickly, or that sufficient observations have not been made, is currently unclear.
Powers/Abilities
Like the other dragons, the Saharan Sand Dragon breathes fire. Its gouts of flame are far less spectacular due to its small size, but they are still quite effective for their purposes.
Society and Culture
Sadly, very little is known about this unique dragon. It is not even known if they share the advanced intelligence of their larger brethren. What is known is that they hunt primarily at night, using their fiery breath as a weapon to fry insects or kill snakes. In the daytime they burrow down into the sand, though if a sandstorm strikes they may occasionally be seen riding the winds (if one is wearing goggles sensitive to infrared to see past the dust, that is).
Sand dragons are known to be intelligent and seem to have their own language consisting of trills and chirps, but so far no-one has attempted to decipher this language.
Brief History
Like all Earth dragons, the Saharan Sand Dragon is a member of the Archosauria and a modern descendant of the dinosaurs. It was discovered relatively recently, in the early twentieth century, though it is suspected that the human natives of the Sahara may have known of its existence (this has not yet been confirmed or denied).