It has a venomous strike and in some versions of the myth, it has the ability to breathe fire. One of the earliest accounts of the basilisk comes from Pliny the Elder's Natural History, written in roughly 79 AD.
To date, no fire-breathing animals have been found. However, it wouldn't be impossible for an animal to expel flames. The bombardier beetle (family Carabidae) stores hydroquinones and hydrogen peroxide in its abdomen, which it ejects when threatened.
It's believed to be the first time a Komodo dragon has been pictured breathing fire in a zoo.
Despite there being no known examples of organisms capable of breathing fire the concept of dragons as flame-spewing mythical creatures is well known across the world. It would be reasonable to expect that like most legendary beasts, the myth of the dragon was inspired by the natural world.
Chimera, in Greek mythology, a fire-breathing female monster resembling a lion in the forepart, a goat in the middle, and a dragon behind. She devastated Caria and Lycia until she was slain by Bellerophon.
Mythological origins
In Jewish mythology, the sea serpent Leviathan, a predecessor to the concept of the dragon, is described as having the power to breathe fire. It is stated in Job 41:19–21 that "its breath kindles coals, and a flame comes out of its mouth".
Prometheus, in Greek religion, one of the Titans, the supreme trickster, and a god of fire. His intellectual side was emphasized by the apparent meaning of his name, Forethinker. In common belief he developed into a master craftsman, and in this connection he was associated with fire and the creation of mortals.
The main reason fire-breathing animals don't exist? Well, a flame could cause a nasty boo-boo. "There are no real animals that are flame resistant or flame immune," Rachel Keeffe, a doctoral student studying reptiles and amphibians at the University of Florida, said in a statement.
Let's remember that dragons were constructed in mythology as humans evolved. Most of them were imagined as lizards with similar characteristics and attitudes. However, no large, flying, fire-making dragons probably existed.
“It is highly implausible for dragons to have evolved from any living or extinct creature,” Duchêne says, adding that dragons' features would require a “truly impossible hybridization event between insects, dinosaurs, and bats.”
In the Hebrew Bible Leviathan, a serpentine sea creature, breathes fire. Yahweh created Leviathan to play in the sea (Ps 104.26) and defeated the monster as a demonstration of his power (Ps 74.14; Isa 27.1).
Draco Lizards (Draco volans) are also known as the flying dragon. This lizard species is small in size, only growing up to 8.4 inches long, but is able to take flight like a dragon. There are around 40 species of Draco lizards.
Sadly no, unlike their namesake, Komodo dragons do not breathe fire. However, they do have a plethora of OTHER fantastical qualities ! The more you learn about these reptilian behemoths, the more unbelievable they become.
Fire Breathing Cormorant - Scientific research. The fire breathing cormorant is a highly rare bird that lives in the Vancouver Island area.
Fire breathing is the act of making a plume or stream of fire by creating a precise mist of fuel from the mouth over an open flame. Regardless of the precautions taken, it is always a dangerous activity, but the proper technique and the correct fuel reduces the risk of injury or death.
salminicola is the only known animal on Earth that does not breathe. If you spent your entire life infecting the dense muscle tissues of fish and underwater worms, like H. salminicola does, you probably wouldn't have much opportunity to turn oxygen into energy, either.
Revelation 12:3 reads, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Later, in Revelation 20:2, the text calls Satan a dragon. It states that the dragon will be bound for a thousand years.
When did dragons become extinct? 65 million years ago a large asteroid hit the Earth and killed them… Dinosaurs existed, Dragons didn't ever live.
Other than birds, however, there is no scientific evidence that any dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, Apatosaurus, Stegosaurus, or Triceratops, are still alive. These, and all other non-avian dinosaurs became extinct at least 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
In grasslands, large grazers like cows, rhinos, and buffalos eat lots of so-called “fine fuels,” highly flammable plants (like grass) that spread fires, which can reduce the size of fires and the area burnt. In dry landscapes, these animals can play an important role in managing wildfire.
Camel. Known as the “ships of the desert,” camels can survive temperatures as high as 120 °F (49 °C) and go a week or more without consuming water.
Agni, (Sanskrit: “Fire”) fire-god of Hinduism, second only to Indra in the Vedic mythology of ancient India. He is equally the fire of the sun, of lightning, and of both the domestic and the sacrificial hearth.
Pele is the Hawaiian volcano deity, an elemental force, and the creator of these volcanic landscapes. According to tradition, she is embodied by the lava and natural forces associated with volcanic eruptions.
Ares, in Greek religion, god of war or, more properly, the spirit of battle. Unlike his Roman counterpart, Mars, he was never very popular, and his worship was not extensive in Greece. He represented the distasteful aspects of brutal warfare and slaughter.