Proto - dragon Proto - dragons were prehistoric lizard - like creatures from whom many scholars believed all species of dragonkind evolved . History . It was believed by scholars from Candlekeep that proto - dragons were related to the prehistoric dinosaur s , and it was speculated that maybe they were a divergent offshoot . The first known proto - dragons were believed to be the eodraco s , wyvern - like creatures considered non - intelligent but more cunning than normal animals . Eodracos were able to survive the cataclysm that destroyed most of the dinosaur species , ( believed by most to be the Tearfall , although many counter - theories existed , ) and began a process of evolution that lasted thousands of years , spawning a lot of proto - draconic species in the process , such as the ancestors of wyverns , drake s , and pseudodragon s . Fossil evidence also suggested the existence of winged multi - headed proto - dragons , and many believed those were the ancestors of hydra s and other multi - headed reptiles . Due to the harsh climatic changes Toril experienced on the final years of the Days of Thunder , scholars theorized eodracos rapid evolved into two main genera . One which was fairly similar in nature with dinosaurs and was believed to be extinct , and other , named " Ignidraco " , that had the ability to breathe out blasts of fire . It was also believed ignidracos were actually intelligent and self - aware creatures , and some scholars attributed to them the creation of the draconic language . Although scholars were unsure how and why it happened , ignidracos evolved further into another two new genera : " Inficedraco " , believed to be the ancestors of chromatic dragon s , and " Ferrodraco " , believed to be the ancestors of metallic dragon s . Both genera continued to undergo process of rapid evolution , until they evolved into the members of the species known as true dragon s some time around −10 , 000 DR . Controversy . The proto - dragon theory , as this group of theories came to be known , wasn ' t widely accepted by most scholars and experts in draconic creatures , prominent among them those who shunned the " evolutionist " theory in favor for the simple but most widely accepted explanation of the gods as the creators of mortal races . A popular counter - theory was to point out to the existence of dragons of similar races to those found in Toril in other planets , crystal sphere s , worlds , and even the Outer Planes . This counter - theory , however , was countered by supporters of the proto - dragon theory by pointing out that not only in Toril , but also in many other worlds , there was enough fossil evidence to prove the existence of the proto - dragon species . The fact that proto - dragon fossils existed in worlds beyond Toril and may have evolved into the same races of dragons torilian proto - dragons did , created a more controversy as well . The proto - dragon theory also had many inconsistencies and it didn ' t covered the origins of draconic species unrelated to the chromatic and metallic dragons . Some apologists of the proto - dragon theory even went as far as to speculate without any kind of proof the existence of more species , such as " Eodraco orientalis " , in an attempt to explain the existence of the draconic species not covered by the main proto - dragon theory . Races . There were many proto - dragon genera believed to have existed by supporters of the proto - dragon theory :