The prototype of the dragon may be the "giant salamander (salamfish)".

A piece of painted pottery with salamander patterns unearthed in Xiping, Gangu County, Gansu Province, belongs to the Majiayao culture.

It has a salamander shape, a face like a human face, a beard under the jaw, and a personified shape. Some scholars believe that this is the prototype of Fuxi, the ancestor of mankind.

In fact, the so-called "Fuxi Snake Drive" in ancient historical legends may actually originally refer to "Salamander Drive", which was later called "Dragon Drive", indicating that the prototype of the dragon came from the giant salamander.