A Scientific Guide to the Fantastical Predators in ‘Game of Thrones’

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We marvel at the dragons in Game of Thrones, but do you ever wonder about the science or biology that would be behind these magnificent beasts? Maddie Stone over at Gizmodo put together a very interesting piece focusing on the actual science of other animals compared to the mighty dragons in Game of Thrones, and her observations are quite sharp:

How could such a large animal have possibly gotten itself off the ground? First and foremost, pterosaurs needed to be as light as physically possible. Like their avian counterparts, these animals possessed extremely light bones, in some cases no more than a 2-3 millimeter hollow tube. For additional buoyancy, they had large air sacs dispersed around their muscles and throughout their body.

It’s quite interesting to weigh the facts of scientific reality versus fantasy fiction and see what would work. And me, I want to live in a world of dragons, so this just lets me dream further.

(Image, story via Gizmodo)