I have this story I'm wanting to write, and in it, a sort of dragon lives in a lake. This dragon has the general shape of a dragon, except its front legs are absent, and instead, its wings are like that of a bat's, with three talons above the wing.

I'm wondering if that would be a good body structure for swimming?

Well penguins get along fine flying under water so I suppose it would work for a dragon. If you put his nostrils and eyes on top of his nose and head it should work better than on the front and sides.

Why put them on the top of his nose?

The nostrils, the eyes should be on top of the head too though. That way he can see and get breath without people seeing him as much.

I see... kind of like an alligator/crocodile?

Yeah.

I would suggest you find some pictures of water monsters and aquatic dinosaurs. I would give you some names, but my dino lore is somewhat lacking.

Sounds great! If I may, I'd suggest that its hind feet should be webbed. That way, they can both propel and steer--like rudders. Just an idea.

The idea (with the exception of the wings) reminds me of the legends of the Loch Ness monster. Anyhow, with the wings folded in, I think it would be okay for swimming.

Phoenix- Good idea.

John- It's similar. *Hasn't heard any legends, but has heard of the Loch Ness monster* Could its wings be used at all for swimming? Even just slightly? It could probably get around with webbed feet and its tail, but wouldn't the wings in addition make it go faster?

I think it would depend on how far out they go when moving forward. If they could tuck in before going out, then it would likely help quite a bit. However, if they couldn't, whenever the dragon would go to use them, I think it would cause too much drag. At least, that's how I envision it.

The wings could extend width-wise. I mean, the wings would stay flat so it wouldn't disrupt the flow of water, then 'flap'.

That sounds plausible. That's pretty much what people do when they swim, so I don't see why a dragon couldn't.

As long as the wings stay mostly flat so that the water doesn't drag against the flesh of the wings, then I think it would work fine.

The tail should be flat and vertical, so as to act as a rudder, either that or be wide, flat, and horizontal for propelling faster.
The wings are a tricky business. To swim effectively, I think they'd need to either be small or have extra joints.