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A wyvern or wivern (pronounced /ˈwаɪvərn/) is a legendary winged reptilian creature with two legs and a barbed tail often found in mediaeval heraldry. The word is derived from Middle English wyvere, from Old North French wivre "viper".[1]
The wyvern is regarded as a type of dragon. Wyverns are normally shown as dragons with two legs and two wings that may have clawed tips. Some have been known to have no legs.[2] Sometimes there are eagle's claws on the wingtips. The rest of its appearance can vary, such as appearing with a tail spade or with a serpent-like tail.
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In Steve Alten's The Loch the Loch Ness Monster is a guivre which got into Loch Ness through Moray Firth. In the 1989 film La Vouivre, the vouivre was a wood nymph.
Some cryptozoologists[3] have interpreted wyverns as surviving pterosaurs, which were extinct around 65 million years ago. There are alleged sightings in remote areas of pterosaur-like creatures such as the Kongamato in Africa.[4]
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