Porter (1996:44-45) interprets the tail of the terrestrial Yinglong, which "uses its tail to sketch on the land a map of channel-like formations whereby the floodwaters were allowed to drain", as the tail of the celestial dragon Scorpius, which is "situated precisely where the Milky Way splits into two branches".
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Carr (1990:106) cites Chen Mengjia's hypothesis, based on studies of Shang Dynasty oracle bones, that Yinglong was originally associated with the niqiu 泥鰍 "loach".