Deep Sea Wyverns - Physiology

As a creator, I believe that the design of every fictional character, at least partially, should take into account the basic rules of anatomy that "justify" its existence. Thanks to these rules, we can, even for a moment, believe in its plausibility and better imagine how the character moves, lives, and exists in the world.

Therefore, I wrote this article where I talk about the anatomy and physiology of my original species, the Underwater Wyverns. I must say right away that I am not a specialist in such matters, but rather an observant artist who loves to fantasize. So, let's do without criticism like "Wyverns cannot have this organ". Let's be honest - wyverns cannot exist either :)

Physiology

The main distinctive feature of the physiology of Deepwater Wyverns is "morphological adaptability" - a natural ability that allows the organism to change its structure, taking into account the surrounding environment and not only. This natural trait influences the entire life cycle of the wyverns, somehow participating in their daily routine. The wyverns themselves call this ability "Virpulis", speaking of it as a controversial gift. In one of his stories, Altumar mentioned Virpulis, but that should be discussed in another article.

Appearance

Externally, wyverns indeed closely resemble classical dragons, but without the front limbs. The main function of the missing limbs is performed by large wings with flexible long fingers, allowing movement in water, on land, and in the air. As auxiliary tools, wyverns use all possible parts of their body: a long tail, grasping hind legs, horns, teeth. Some individuals are born with additional protrusions, crests, or membranes, affecting the life of wyverns, one way or another.

From this, we can conclude that each wyvern is unique and has its own set of skills, among which there are both predominant and missing ones. For example, some wyverns move quickly in water thanks to additional crests on their back. And some are quicker on land due to narrow wings and a small body size. Someone can see in pitch darkness, while someone moves by touch due to hypersensitivity to light. Someone can eat a huge squid with a shell on its back without even noticing. And someone exclusively eats algae because they do not feel the smell of blood, which is why they refuse to hunt.

Coloration

Besides unique skills, each wyvern has its universal coloration. Most often, this palette is limited to blue-violet shades, but not without bright inclusions. Throughout its development, the wyvern in the egg absorbs the colors of the surrounding world. And even in the last stages of maturation, one small external event can reflect on the appearance of the hatchling.

Being inhabitants of the ocean depths, nature has ensured that among wyverns there are no individuals of pure white color. This would contradict their ability to hide and maneuver unnoticed in the water. Bright and colorful wyverns are born very rarely and, most often, do not live to adulthood. However, individuals with luminescent inclusions are common, but only in places of particularly great depth.

The skin surface of Deepwater Wyverns is covered with scales of small or medium size. From it depends on how bright the creature can be. Large plates on the body surface are rare, but not an exception.

Size

Conditionally, the size of a Deepwater Wyvern can be described as "medium". For example, if comparing an adult wyvern with an adult dragon, the former would be about 0.5 times smaller than the latter. If you place this wyvern next to a forest drake, it would be about twice as large.

Naturally, the size of each wyvern varies greatly depending on age, gender, body shape, and other factors. Wyverns grow until old age, but, with age, this process gradually slows down.

Water or Land Dweller?

Where wyverns came from - history does not give a definitive answer. But whoever took part in their creation clearly wanted to give marine inhabitants a choice. Almost every wyvern has a dual respiratory system - lungs and gills.

Many wyverns can live their entire lives underwater, never knowing what air feels on their own body. But there are those who will forever leave the Home of water, quickly adapting to new living conditions. If considering the life of wyverns on the surface, excluding personal relationships between the inhabitants of water and land, they could easily settle near large bodies of water and rivers, neighboring other inhabitants of the Marine Reminiscence.

Gills

Gills are a paired organ that, unlike lungs, every wyvern has from birth, without exception. Usually, they are located around the neck or behind the cheeks, hidden under the horns or membranous flaps of the creature. But, from time to time, there are wyverns whose gills are closer to the sternum or on the sides near the ribs.

Wyverns can swim with their mouths slightly open, "swallowing" water and redirecting it to the gills, where gas exchange takes place, saturating the body with a sufficient amount of oxygen. This is a vital organ, necessary as long as the creature is in water. Being on land, the wyvern hides its gills under scales and plates, keeping them intact until its next dive.

Muscles and Bones

The ability to stay underwater for a long time, move on land, and fly requires a unique combination of adaptations in the structure of the musculoskeletal system of the species. For example, the bones of wyverns have a medium-density structure, allowing the creatures to feel comfortable in any natural environment. The presence of a large keel on the chest, similar to birds, is an essential part of the body that enables them to fly.

The long multi-segmented spine and flexible tendons allow for smooth and fast movement underwater, and large developed pectoral muscles help lift a significant weight in the air for a short time.

Otherwise, the skeleton and muscles do not have special distinctive features. Such details as the presence of spikes, long crests, complexly shaped tails, and the like depend on the individuality of a specific wyvern.

Pressure and Temperature

Deepwater Wyverns tolerate temperature fluctuations well, except for northern latitudes where water can reach temperatures of -2 degrees. The same applies to land: wyverns feel comfortable as long as the air temperature does not reach minimal values. Mountains and snow ice floes are not for them - such regions can be deadly dangerous for Deepwater Wyverns.

Pressure does not have a strong influence on wyverns; they move quite freely in all layers of the ocean. For example, decompression sickness - the formation of bubbles in the body and tissues of the organism when pressure is reduced too quickly. In the case of wyverns, such a temporary effect may manifest in individuals who initially lived on land for a long time, and even then - in the form of a headache or sudden panic at most.

Basic Needs

Deepwater Wyverns have a number of basic needs, like any other living creature in the world of Marine Reminiscence, namely: food, water, oxygen, sleep, and shelter. Below I will talk about only a couple of them because the others require separate analysis in the future.

Nutrition

Each wyvern chooses what to eat, taking into account the peculiarities of its development. From childhood, the hatchling independently explores the underwater world around it, trying everything that does not swim or swims not very fast. This can be as ordinary as algae and as unusual as sea sharks with coral polyps for a snack.

Often, the diet of the hatchling changes along with its growth. A wyvern may grow additional fins or lose sharp fangs, which will definitely affect its ability to hunt and survive in real conditions. This is a vivid example of Morphological Adaptability, which I mentioned at the beginning of the article.

The strength and endurance of an individual directly depend on its type of diet. Therefore, every wyvern tries to eat diversely and obtain all the necessary products in nature: meat, marine algae, underwater fruits, corals, crayfish and shrimp, berries and other plants, crystals, mushrooms, and much more. In case a wyvern is too weak or clumsy for hunting and foraging, it turns to other wyverns and joins the community if necessary.

Sleep

Wyverns need rest and breaks to fully recover their strength. After finding a suitable place, they can immerse themselves in sleep for an unlimited number of hours to "reboot" the body. Full immersion in the embrace of Morpheus poses some dangers, which is why wyverns sleep very lightly, feeling all the vibrations of water around them. But even so, sometimes, inattentive and careless hatchlings can be carried away by the water current not far from the place where they fell asleep before. Thus, wyverns initially try to choose very enclosed places for long sleep. In some cases, they may curl up, wrapping themselves with their tail around plants or roots of sea trees.

Reproduction, Development, and Social Skills

The main differences of wyverns from all other species of the Sea Reminiscence lie precisely in their social communication, reproduction, raising offspring, and the structure of underwater communities. I will touch on all these topics in the following articles because swallowing so much information at once is very difficult.

Thank you very much for your attention!
I will be glad to receive your feedback :3

Explore more
Deep Sea Wyverns - Who Are They?
Deep Sea Wyverns - Physiology
Deep Sea Wyverns - Stages Of Growth
Deep Sea Wyverns - Reproduction and Family
Deep Sea Wyverns - The Origin of Names
Deep Sea Wyverns - Structure of the Communities