Note: This page is a work in process and is in no way, shape, or form complete or finalized. Significant changes may be made as new information comes to light.
The dragons and their kindred species are among the most innately magical and biologically complex creatures of the Material plane, but their reclusiveness and, in the case of many species, rarity, has prevented any major taxonomic work on the group. This article seeks to rectify that by examining the internal taxonomic relations of the dragonkind. Undead dragons are not treated here, as they are by their nature not independent species at all but non-living things created from the bodies of other species. This article also relies more on environmental, magical, and otherwise biological similarities and affinities than on any supposed lines of evolutionary descent for its organization.
Systemic Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Dracoformes
Dracoformes is the class that encompasses all true dragons and a number of other, related species. Physiological characteristics apparently include warm-bloodedness (probably homeothermic), scaly skin, and oviparity, among others.
Internal Systematics
Order: Dracomorpha - the true dragons.
- Family: Draconidae - the classical dragons
- Subfamily: Chrominae - the chromatic dragons
- Subfamily: Metallinae - the metallic dragons
- Tribe: Metallini
- Tribe: Ferrini
- Subfamily: Geminae - the gem dragons
- Family: Karadraconidae - the lung dragons
- Family: Xenodraconidae - the planar dragons
- Family: Potendraconidae
- Subfamily: Potendraconinae - the epic dragons (force, prismatic, time)
- Subfamily: Arcanadracinae - the arcane dragons (hex, tome)
- Family: Phlogisdraconidae - the "spelljamming" dragons (radiant/wildspace, moon, sun, stellar)
- Family: Dzalmidae - the dzalmus
- Family: Rattelyridae - the rattelyr
- Family: Tempesdraconidae - the catastrophic dragons
Order: Pseudodracomorpha - the false dragons. Includes dragonets, wyverns, wyrms, and drakes.
- Family: Microdraconidae - the dragonets
- Family: Pseudodraconidae - drakes, wyrms, vishap, wyvern(?)
Order: Dracohemos - the dragonblooded (kobolds, dragonspawn, and dragonborn)
- Family: Microdraconiformidae - kobolds, dragonborn
- Family: Dinodraconiformidae - dragonspawn
Order: Chelodracos - the dragon turtle
Order: Protodraco - the linnorms