in zoology, a genus belonging to the order of amphibia reptilia. The characters of which are these: It has four legs, a cylindrical tail, and two membranaceous wings, radiated like the fins of a fish, by which he is enabled to fly, but not to any great distance at a time. There are two species, 1. The volans, or flying dragon, with the wings entirely distinct from the fore-legs; it is found in Africa and the East Indies. 2. The prepos, with the wings fixed to the fore-legs; it is a native of America. They are both harmless creatures, and feed upon flies, ants, and small insects.

**DRACO VOLANS**, in meteorology, a fiery exhalation, frequent in marshy and cold countries.

It is most common in summer, and though principally seen playing near the banks of rivers, or in boggy places, yet sometimes mounts up to a considerable height in the air, to the no small terror of the amazed beholders; its appearance being that of an oblong, sometimes roundish, fiery body, with a long tail. It is entirely harmless, frequently sticking to the hands and cloaths of people without injuring them in the least.

in astronomy, a constellation of the northern hemisphere. See Astronomy, p. 466.