I looked into it a little and the whole idea of winged fire breathing dragons originated in Europe. From what I can tell Europe was the only continent to have legends of dragons in the traditional sense. Chinese dragons for example weren't known for breathing fire or having wings.

If there was a shared idea of what a dragon was in multiple disparate parts of the world then I could believe they did exist at some point since how could a European legend (for example) make it's way to the other side of the world in ancient times when long distance travel wasn't possible? Since the appearance and powers of dragons are wildly different between different countries however I'm more inclined to believe my dinosaur bone theory.

Wait, does Dragon have some sort of extra meaning or connotations to it now...

Like Couger... Bear... or Otter??? :laugh:

Here in the UK Mokka, 'Dragon' is an old insult for the Mother-In-Law or a particularly crusty battleaxe of a woman.