Join Earth Ranger Emma as she sets off on a myth-busting mission across continents to answer one fiery question: were dragons ever real? From the sheep-stealing dragons of medieval England to the mighty dragon myths of ancient China, Emma’s journey is full of wild stories, fossil finds, and mind-blowing science. Tune in and let’s hunt down the truth behind one of humanity’s oldest legends!

Today’s myth brings Earth Ranger Emma over to Nanyang, China, to investigate the river basin for clues about China’s dragon mythology. At XiXia Relic Park she is joined by Professor Li, who shares her paleontology knowledge and passion for dragons.

The Nanyang River basin has among the oldest discovered deposits of dinosaur eggs in the entire world. Covering 78,015 of land, thousands of fossilized eggs have been unearthed here, with more still hidden underground. Mention of these eggs can be traced back to 1920, if not earlier. Of course… with such strange fossils, myths might come from them.

Professor Li has more to share regarding the reach of dragon myths. In Chinese mythology, dragons have a lot more to do with water than fire, Aboriginal Australians have the myth of the “Rainbow Serpent” said to bring water and rain, while in Albanian the dragon “Kulshedra” causes a lack of rain through droughts, breathing fire and shooting lightning.

Dragons, wyverns, serpents, drakes, wyrms, hydras and many more. All share a very lizard-like trait, don’t they? Some have wings, small arms, and missing legs, if someone without science were to discover these, there are a lot of theories that could be made to try to explain them. Some suggest that the sightings of fossilized dinosaurs could be an explanation for the widespread myth of dragons worldwide that goes back more than thousands of years! As scientists discovered what real dinosaurs were like, the myth of the dragon stopped being used…

What’s your favorite type of dragons? Know any other dragon-like creature that wasn’t listed? What legends from around the world have you heard of? Share them with the rest of the Earth Rangers here! Don’t forget – Let us know some other cool cryptids you wish Ryan or Emma talked about! Ryan’s going nuts coming up with some, but why not talk about other cool legends here?