Dog in Chinese mythology resemblance to the real animal, which, however, plays a big part in Chinese folklore."(Eberhard, 2003: 164) The reasons for referencing "guardian lions" as "dogs" in Western cultures may be obscure, however the phenomenon is well known. Despite any fantastic myths from China about dogs, real dogs have been familiar throughout China since prehistorical times (unlike certain exotic animals, such as lions or other creatures, whose real attributes may often only have been known indirectly). Dogs also feature in various historical and legendary accounts or stories, found in the extensive literary records of China, although in some cases the lines between
Buru (legendary creature) a large Komodo dragon-like monitor lizard, and there are fossils of such a creature to be found in the Indian subcontinent. Heuvelmans notes similar reported creatures from Western India under the name of "jhoors" where they seem to merge into the Iranian traditional dragon or ahi (Azi Dahaka), which in Iranian art is basically a local stylistic adaptation of the Chinese dragon. George Eberhart notes rumors of a similar creature in the Tigris marshes of Iraq, called the afa, possibly the same thing as ahi. Heuvelmans also notes in his checklist of unknown animals that similar reports to the buru