The legendary dragon of medieval Europe, the wyvern is one of the most savage creatures ever imagined: it expelled incredibly foul breath through fearsome fangs and fire from its nose. It obliterated whole villages with one sweep of its spiked tail, and crushed victims in its scaly coils.
Menace from Head to Toe: Blazing eyes dominate its horrible, scaly head, and its legs, which are as large as tree-trunks, can kick down whole buildings.
Good Eats: Covered with impenetrable scales, the wyvern's belly often looked bloated-a sign that the beast has recently feasted at some unlucky village.
A World of Dragons[]

Name a country or a culture, and it likely has a dragon in its past. Dragon images have been found in China, Egypt, Ethiopia, on Viking ships from Scandinavia, Aztec temples in Mexico and cliffs above the Mississippi River in the United States. Like the wyvern, some dragons guard treasure and devour humans who dare to steal it. But other dragons bring good luck, grant magical powers, change the weather or warn of doom.
Breath Mint, Please: Filled with cutting teeth and encrusted with the flesh of the wyvern's prey, the jaws emit clouds of repulsive, sulphurous fumes, which mingle with the decaying stench of rotting flesh.
Wild Wings: Two leathery wings propel the giant dragon through the air. When flapped, they generate a fierce, destructive wind.
Did Dragons Really Exist?[]
- The idea of flying dragons may have come from the real-life flying lizard. It spreads the flaps on its sides and glides or parachutes down from the trees. This lizard lives in Malaysia, but was imported into Europe.
- Another origin for the dragon myth could have come from the sea. The 30-foot-long oarfish, with a red crest on its head, may have been spotted hundreds of years ago and believed to be a dragon.
Trading Card[]
Trivia[]
- The Wyvern is used on the Monsters of the Mind knowledge card divider.
- Unlike the other dividers that feature their creature's illustrations, which use the image on the front of the card, the Wyvern art used is from the back of the card.
- The wyvern is featured on several Monster Mania cards:
- The wyvern's trading card is featured on Monster Mania 2 and Monster Mania 21 and on Battle of the Monsters Variations 69 on Monster Mania 69.
- The wyvern is featured in The First "Great Lizard" on Monster Mania 23.
- It is also featured in Do Not Disturb! on Monster Mania 94.
- The wyvern is one of two creatures to have a door sign, the other being the Cave Bear. The wyvern's sign says "Stay out or you'll take the heat!"