It's far easier to distinguish between feral dragon types.

western_dragon - These typically look like large winged lizards with a posture more akin to that of a lion. They are always considered scalie, and typically have large membranous wings and horns or spikes on their heads, often running down their backs and tails. Most depictions of dragons in popular culture fit this definition. If you see scales, it's usually a western dragon. Remember that western_dragon implies scalie, so this should only be used if the dragon looks like a scalie (even if scales aren't specifically visible). If the dragon is covered in fur or feathers, but otherwise looks like a western dragon, do not use this tag since it isn't a scalie. Use one of those two tags instead. Those may only be combined with western_dragon if the dragon appears to be a near-even mix of both scales and feathers/fur.

eastern_dragon - These are typically seen with a long serpentine body, a narrow mane running across the whole back, a long flowing mustache or flesh whiskers, antlers, sometimes more than two pairs of legs, and feet like those of a bird's. They don't usually have wings. There can be many variations on these traits, but if it has more than one or two of them, it's probably an eastern dragon. If it's covered in scales, you can also add the scalie tag. If it's covered in fur or feathers, you can also tag furred_dragon or feathered_dragon respectively. Note that a mane or patch of fur or feathers is not enough to qualify for those tags - the body has to be covered in it.

wyvern - Similar to the western dragon, except that wyverns have only two regular legs, while their forelimbs function as wings. Note that they often walk on all fours, using their wings as another pair of legs like how bats do. The dragons from The Elder Scrolls and Game of Thrones are wyverns. On anthros, this is often depicted as a bipedal character with arms that double as wings, as opposed to having wings as separate limbs as western dragon anthros typically do. This can be combined with western, feathered, furred, or aquatic dragon if it also matches any of their definitions.

furred_dragon - Furred dragons usually look like western dragons, but with fur instead of scales. They can also be eastern dragons or wyverns, however. If it looks like a dragon but covered in fur all over (not just with a mane like what eastern dragons often have), use this tag.

feathered_dragon - Similar to furred dragon, a feathered dragon looks like any other dragon except that it's covered in feathers. This should not be used if a dragon only has some feathers - a feathered dragon should be as feathery as a bird, or pretty close.

aquatic_dragon - Aquatic dragons may be either western or eastern, and as such, this tag may be combined with either of those tags. Some aquatic dragons do not resemble either eastern or western, however. Typically, an aquatic dragon can be recognized by the presence of fins, gills, or webbed hands or feet.

wingless_dragon - Some western dragons don't have wings. This tag should not be used in conjunction with the eastern dragon, aquatic dragon, or wyvern tags, as eastern dragons are already wingless by default, aquatic dragons usually have fins instead of wings, and wyverns must have wings to be considered wyverns. This tag may be used in conjunction with western dragon, furred dragon, or feathered dragon, but should ideally not be tagged on its own if a more specific dragon type is possible. Do not use this for dragon humanoids, as humanoids typically don't have wings to begin with.

that ain't a dragon - sometimes, the dragon tag gets applied incorrectly to characters that are not dragons. This is often the case with Dragon-type Pokémon that don't actually resemble dragons, such as Goodra, Flygon, and Latias. If you use this option on a post that doesn't have any other species tags, please try to replace the tag with a correct one.