{"id":15755,"date":"2022-07-22T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T06:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=124344"},"modified":"2022-07-22T20:50:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T18:50:34","slug":"house-of-the-dragon-yes-fire-breathing-animals-could-really-exist","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/house-of-the-dragon-yes-fire-breathing-animals-could-really-exist\/","title":{"rendered":"House Of The Dragon: Yes, fire-breathing animals could really exist"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Stephen Kelly\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 22 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The prequel to Game Of Thrones<\/em>, House Of The Dragon<\/em>, tells the story of House Targaryen, masters of that most fantastical of creatures: giant, fire-breathing dragons. But are dragons really as outlandish as they seem? Surely no animal could grow so large and fly, or evolve the ability to spit fire? Henry Gee, evolutionary biologist and author of A (Very) Short History Of Life On Earth<\/em>, says the idea is \u201cnot quite as daft as you might think\u201d.<\/p>\n

He cites the bombardier beetle as an example. \u201cIt synthesises a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen the beetle is threatened, it puts the mix into a combustion chamber, and enzymes provoke the chemicals to react, producing a toxic substance called benzoquinone. It then squirts this boiling-hot liquid into the eyes of an assailant. When you think about that, producing fire is no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gee has a convincing theory for how a dragon would be able to burn you alive. \u201cMy scheme would be the biological synthesis of a substance that ignites spontaneously when forcefully ejected into the air. And there is such a substance: diethyl ether.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Gee points out (with the obvious caveat that you shouldn\u2019t try this at home), ether is fairly simple to make \u2013 all you do is warm alcohol in the presence of sulphuric acid. \u201cAlcohol is produced by all sorts of organisms, and living organisms produce sulphates, so it\u2019s not too big a stretch to say that they might produce sulphuric acid,\u201d he says. \u201cI could imagine that there would be modified salivary glands in the dragon\u2019s mouth containing colonies of microbes that would do just this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ether also has the relatively low flash point of 45\u00b0C. \u201cIt\u2019s so ignitable that a dragon could squirt liquid ether across its teeth and it would burst into flame.\u201d The dragon\u2019s skin would need to be fire-proof, of course. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason why dragon scales wouldn\u2019t contain something like borax,\u201d says Gee, referring to the substance used in many fire-retardant materials.<\/p>\n

There are, however, potential issues with the idea of spewing fire from your mouth. \u201cThere would have to be some sort of lining of the gland to prevent the dragon from poisoning itself,\u201d says Gee, who points out that there are many animals capable of carrying poison without poisoning themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d also have to watch out for buildup of insoluble sulphates, which could clog up the glands and cause pain and disease.\u201d Gee maintains, however, that there is no biological reason why creatures couldn\u2019t evolve to breathe fire. \u201cJust because it hasn\u2019t happened, it doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Gee is more sceptical of is the idea that dragons the size of those in Game Of Thrones<\/em> would be able to take off from the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you watch swans or geese in their run-up, you\u2019ll know that if they were any bigger, they wouldn\u2019t manage it,\u201d he says. For comparison, Gee cites the dragon\u2019s spiritual kin: dinosaurs<\/a> and ancient flying reptiles. \u201cSome pterodactyls were as big as small planes, but they wouldn\u2019t have been much good at flapping. Dragons are so much bigger.\u201d Indeed, Gee theorises that some dinosaurs that were small enough to fly evolved to such a large size that flight became impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows,\u201d he says. \u201cMaybe some of the later, larger dinosaurs were dragons that fell to Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verdict:\u00a0<\/strong>The bombardier beetle has nearly sussed the biology, and that\u2019s good enough for us! Plus, we just really, really like dragons.<\/p>\n

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About our expert, Henry Gee<\/h4>\n

Henry Gee<\/a> is an author, editor and palaeontologist. He has a PhD in zoology from the University of Cambridge, and his latest book is A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more from\u00a0Popcorn Science<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n