Giant Reptiles, sometimes referred to as "Dinosaurs", are a relatively common lifeform throughout the galaxy, especially on Death Worlds and Feral Worlds where they are often the main predator type. Dinosaurs also serve as farm animals[19], including on Exodite Worlds where they serve as the main food source.[5]
Overview
A giant reptile typically ranges from the size of a Bike to that of a Land Raider, is possessed of considerable strength and ferocity, and has vicious natural weapons ranging from sharp bony protrusions and claws to jaws capable of ripping open the hull of a Rhino APC.
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It is quite common for the worlds from which the Space Marines recruit to have such lethal predators stalking the inhospitable terrain, and for young aspirants to prove themselves by slaying one of these immense beasts and taking a trophy as a coming-of-age ritual. Carnosaurs prowl the blasted wastes of the Triath sector, and the infamous Arcanadonts, top of the evolutionary ladder in the honeycombed mining world of Mordant, are sold across the Segmentum as vicious pets and status symbols at a great cost in both life and raw meat. The Catachan Jungle Fighters of the Imperial Guard have been known to field Rough Riders mounted atop one of the mighty Giant Reptiles native to the jungles of Catachan.[1b][6][23]
Dragons
Dragons[4] were offspring of the genetically-modified giant reptiles (some of which breathe fire[21]) which the Eldar seeded among the Maiden Worlds of the Eldar Empire as a dominant component of the planets' ecologies.[4] The original species may have originated from the homeworlds of the Eldar.[4] Dragons became central to the lifestyles of the Eldar Exodites, who herd and ride various species and trade their meat with the Craftworld Eldar.[10] Dragons are carnivores, and will naturally feed on forest prey,[20] but the Aeldari exodites harvest and feed them algae.[4]
The relation is unclear, but a species of giant reptile referred to as a dragon was native to Dragon's End, prior to its extinction.[16]
Known Giant Reptiles
Known Dragons
Riding Dragons
Winged Dragons
Working Dragons
Other Dragons
Images
Diorama of a Dragon Knight facing a Chaplain.[1a]
Giant Reptile ridden by Imperial Rough Rider.[1b]
See also
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 292 (UK) - Chapter Approved: Creature Feature:
- 1a: pg. 102
- 1b: pg. 105 - Giant Reptiles by Phil Kelly
- 2: Battle of the Archaeosaurs (Short Story)
- 3: In the Belly of the Beast (Short Story)
- 4: White Dwarf 126 (UK), pg. 29-40 - Knights
- 5: White Dwarf 200 (UK), pg. 49
- 6: Codex: Catachans (3rd Edition), pg. 16
- 7: Deathwatch: Mark of the Xenos, pgs. 64-65
- 8: The Infinite and the Divine (Novel), Chapter 6
- 9: Promethean Sun (Novella), pg. 8-54 (Digital)
- 10: Codex: Eldar (2nd Edition), pgs. 16-17
- 11: Path of the Warrior (Novel), Part Three - Exarch
- 12: Path of the Outcast (Novel), pg. 59
- 13: The Citadel Journal 35, pg. 31
- 14: Path of the Renegade (Novel), Chapter Seven
- 15: Ghost Warrior (Novel), Chapter 11 - Foreshadowing
- 16: Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition) - House Griffith
- 17: Salamanders: The Omnibus - Glossary
- 18: Old Earth (Novel), Chapter Three pgs. 66-67
- 19: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, pg. 210
- 20: The Carnac Campaign: Spirit War (Short Story), pg. 57
- 21: The Path Forsaken (Audio Drama) (Digital)
- 22: Voidscarred (Novel), Chapter 1
- 23: Games Workshop: Creature Feature - Giant Reptiles by Phil Kelly (saved archive page without images, dated 20 May 2007, last accessed 01 March 2026)