Proto-dragon

Proto-dragons were prehistoric lizard-like creatures from whom many scholars believed all species of dragonkind evolved.

History
It was believed by scholars from Candlekeep that proto-dragons were related to the prehistoric dinosaurs, and it was speculated that maybe they were a divergent offshoot. The first known proto-dragons were believed to be the eodracos, wyvern-like creatures considered non-intelligent but more cunning than normal animals. Eodracos were able to survive the cataclysm that destroyed most of the dinosaur species (believed by most to be the Tearfall, although many counter-theories existed), and began a process of evolution that lasted thousands of years, spawning a lot of proto-draconic species in the process, such as the ancestors of wyverns, drakes, and pseudodragons. Fossil evidence also suggested the existence of winged multi-headed proto-dragons, and many believed those were the ancestors of hydras and other multi-headed reptiles.

Due to the harsh climatic changes Toril experienced on the final years of the Days of Thunder, scholars theorized eodracos rapidly evolved into two main genera. One which was fairly similar in nature with dinosaurs and was believed to be extinct, and other, named Ignidraco, that had the ability to breathe out blasts of fire. It was also believed ignidracos were actually intelligent and self-aware creatures, and some scholars attributed to them the creation of the draconic language.

Although scholars were unsure how and why it happened, it was believed that the ignidracos evolved further into another two new genera: Inficedraco, believed to be the ancestors of chromatic dragons, and Ferrodraco, believed to be the ancestors of metallic dragons. Both genera continued to undergo process of rapid evolution, until they evolved into the members of the species known as true dragons some time around.

Controversy
The proto-dragon theory, as this group of theories came to be known, wasn't widely accepted by most scholars and experts in draconic creatures, prominent among them those who shunned the "evolutionist" theory in favor for the simple but most widely accepted explanation of the gods as the creators of mortal races. A popular counter-theory was to point out to the existence of dragons of similar races to those found in Toril in other planets, crystal spheres, worlds, and even the Outer Planes. This counter-theory, however, was countered by supporters of the proto-dragon theory by pointing out that not only in Toril, but also in many other worlds, there was enough fossil evidence to prove the existence of the proto-dragon species. The fact that proto-dragon fossils existed in worlds beyond Toril and may have evolved into the same races of dragons torilian proto-dragons did, created more controversy as well.

The proto-dragon theory also had many inconsistencies and it didn't cover the origins of draconic species unrelated to the chromatic and metallic dragons. Some apologists of the proto-dragon theory even went as far as to speculate without any kind of proof the existence of more species, such as Eodraco orientalis, in an attempt to explain the existence of the draconic species not covered by the main proto-dragon theory.

Proponents of the "Elegy for the First World" were also divided about the proto-dragon theory. Some of them believed that the elegy and the proto-dragon theory contradicted each other. Other scholars, however, believed that the elegy confirmed the theory, and proposed that the proto-dragons were actually the "memories" of the original dragons of the First World, retained by the then-newly born Toril, and that it took thousands of years for dragons to fully manifest once again in the world of Toril.

Races
There were many proto-dragon genera believed to have existed by supporters of the proto-dragon theory:
 * Eodraco: Widely believed to include the first proto-dragons.
 * E. orientalis: A species of Eodraco believed to be the ancestor of the lung dragons.
 * An offshoot that evolved into the wyverns.
 * An offshoot that evolved into the drakes.
 * An offshoot that evolved into the pseudodragons and possibly into the faerie dragons as well.
 * A multi-headed, winged offshoot that possibly evolved into hydras and dracohydras.
 * An offshoot that went extinct.
 * Ignidraco: A subgenus believed to include the first intelligent draconic creatures.
 * Ferrodraco: A subgenus believed to include the ancestors of metallic dragons.
 * Inficedraco: A subgenus believed to include the ancestors of chromatic dragons.
 * A subgenus believed to include the ancestors of planar dragons.