Muddy Dragon
Alligator sinensis
Status: Critically endangered, habitat fragmentation and loss, and extreme population declines
The Chinese mythical dragon (called a loong) is a fantastic celestial creature that is depicted as a chimerical conglomeration of attributes from a variety of earthly creatures. It has the serpentine body of a snake, the scales of a carp, the mane of a lion, antlers of a deer, and claws of an eagle. They are majestic symbols of power and tied to the elements and the land as spirits and guardians.
The inspiration for loong was once thought to be snakes, or lightning, but modern archaeologists now speculate that the original prototype for the loong imagery was very likely the Chinese alligator, based on findings of depictions of the alligators on ancient relics. Over the centuries, the muddy dragons of the Yangtze River evolved in the minds and hearts of people to become the celestial loongs.
References:
Barbour, Thomas. "A Note Regarding the Chinese Alligator." Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. 62, no. 2, 1910, pp. 464-467. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4063434. Accessed 18 Aug. 2021.
Hopkins, L. C. "Dragon and Alligator: Being Notes on Some Ancient Inscribed Bone Carvings." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1913, pp. 545-552. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25189020. Accessed 18 Aug. 2021.
Cartwright, Mark. "The Dragon in Ancient China", World History Encyclopedia, Sept 2017. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1125/the-dragon-in-ancient-china/