Wyvern

"'These cold-blooded Beasts are terror incarnate. Scales as tough as steel, teeth sharper than daggers, a hungry maw that spouts flames, eyes that see in the dark, and a nose that smells only blood. They were built and molded to be the ultimate predator. Behold, the terrible beast once only seen in the nightmares of the Precursors, living and breathing!' ~ Extract from the Adventurer's Guide."Wyverns are a Class 4 Beast found in almost every continent of Conatasia. They are considered one of the most dangerous Beasts. They resemble Old World depictions of carnivorous dinosaurs, specifically the Tyrannosaurus and Allosauras. In fact, it is often speculated that they are a result of devolution of a lizard type creature caused by a massive concentration of nuclear radiation spread by Seeds of Destruction.

Biology
The Wyvern typically grows between 7-9 meters tall, and can weigh anywhere from 9000 to 12000 kilograms. Wyverns exhibit vast levels of strength and endurance, able to sustain over half a dozen rounds from artillery cannons before falling and even prevailing over and killing River Snatchers in struggles, though there have been rare cases where especially large River Snatchers have taken down Wyverns.

Weapons and Abilities
Wyverns possess a set of dagger-sharp teeth and jaws that produce easily enough force to crush rocks. They will usually attack by using brute force, attempting to step on or charge at their foes to pin them before ripping them apart with their sharp teeth and powerful jaw. The Wyvern possesses a deceivingly large amount of speed and agility despite its weight, able to leap distances of nearly 10 meters (~32 feet), and as such it is recommended only high-class Centurions go after this Beast.

Iron Scales: Wyverns possess scales with durability roughly equivalent to, if not greater than industrial steel. This renders them practically invulnerable to most environmental hazards, and they have next to no predators as a result.

Thermal Vision: As a result of their volcanic habitat, Wyverns have developed a bizarre yet deadly sense of vision. They are able to see in infared, allowing them to detect the body heat of living organisms.

Dragon's Breath: The trademark feature of a Wyvern is the ability to spout flames from its mouth. This is due to them ingesting incredibly hot, nearly molten rocks that are commonly found in their volcanic habitats. These flames have been recorded to go up to temperatures of nearly 700 degrees celsius (1300 degrees F), easily enough to melt human flesh.

Behaviour and Traits
Wyverns have been viewed to be opportunistic, nomadic hunters. They will eat practically any living thing that crosses its path, due to it dwarfing most land creatures and having almost no natural predators.

Wyverns have a habit of consuming and ingesting rocks that have reached near melting temperatures in order to regulate their body heat before hunting, which they can spend up to days doing. They generally consume over one ton of meat during their hunts. Occasionally, Wyverns will hunt in packs of two, and even more rarely seen than that is Wyverns hunting in packs of three. There have been no sightings of Wyvern packs exceeding three members.

The only other time a Wyvern can be seen with another Wyvern is during mating season. Once both parent Wyverns have mated, the female will lay her eggs around a volcano or an area with high temperatures. This inulates the eggs and allows them to grow. Both parents then die from exhaustion.

Habitat
Due to their cold blood, Wyverns hang around area with high temperatures such as volcanoes, and even underground volcanic caves, when not hunting. Because of this, they have an especially high population in the continent of Maora. In the case of the Sand Wyvern, they typically bask out in the sun during the day.

Trivia

 * Wyverns are named after the Wyverns of European mythology.
 * Wyverns take inspiration from the Anjanath of the Monster Hunter series.