: : Dragons were rational and could speak (all the dragons Tolkien describes in detail were highly prolix). None of the beasts is recorded as acting in a rational manner or speaking - they were beasts not "Rational incarnates."

: : Tolkien is not shy of calling a dragon a dragon. Indeed he has a number of more detailed descriptive names for them, cold-drakes and fire-drakes for example. Tolkien never describes the beasts as dragons.

: As a complete side point about dragons, I've come to the belief that part of the reason the peoples of the east and south are in the service of Mordor is because of the presence (past and/or present) of dragons in those areas of the world. As for evidence, #1 is that many dragons probably would have fled far away from the havens of the elves after the War of Wrath; #2 that dragons were responsible for devouring 4 (or 3?) of the 7 dwarf rings, but there were only 1 or 2 (maybe three) dwarf clans in the nw of ME; #3 the standard of the Southrons is a black dragon; and #4 the resistance of the southrons and easterlings was not as successful (for some unknown or unmentioned reason) as the westrons'.

: As for your original point, yes. I agree the the beasts are not dragons. Though I guess I might argue that there is a possibility that they are a leftover brood of the creatures that perhaps Morgoth bred into dragons. That is at least possible, though maybe not probable.

: Cheers.

: Dave C-Q

>>>Interesting point. I had never considered it before, although I don't think that we can say that that is the reason for Sauron's domination. {Perhpaps in the early days of SA Sauron turned himself into a dragon-like creature when in the South} I think the reason he dominated in those lands was that there was nothing to stand in his way. In the northwest was Elven country, whom he was always at war with. Also were the Dunedain and Numenore. Indeed, I believe that there are few races of men that have resisted Sauron, and the Dunedain race is the main one. The power of Gil-galad and the Numenoreans never went really far into the East of the Misty Mountains. The Easterlings and Haradrim probably only had contact with these enemies of Sauron in battle. I do think your dragon theory is possible and probable, but I don't think that is the main reason for it. Sauron was much more frightening than a dragon I think (or was in SA)and it wouldn't take much to frighten them, and they probably never had much motivation to resist him anyway. Good points though.
I think we must make a little of a difference between 'dragons' and 'worms'. I think that is easy; dragons fly and worms slither. Glaurung was a worm, not a dragon. Perhaps the cold-drakes and fire-drakes were kinds of worms.
:Just a little something to think about.
-Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod