It was considered one of the four sacred creatures of the Orient. These dragons are found in many notible medieval, Greek, Roman, and Norse legends. The basic characteristic of the European dragon is that they have wings. They can have two or four legs depending on the type and can be of any color. Many of these dragons breath fire.
European dragons tend to be thought of as greedy and evil.
Role-playing games have picked up on the European type of dragon as a monster or even character with the game. I believe that the games, as well as modern fantasy, have broken down the colors and types better than I could. Come to my Dragon Page for more information. The Legend of the Nibelung Hoard. A creature mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible.