Some are like the "prey" are based of velocirapters. 
But quite a few are dragons
Like my fav:
[img]http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/28d0491325394103eb7771415f1d4fb0/http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv83/darkforce105/MeriStation_MonsterHunter2_PS2_3802.jpg[/img]
There are wyverns too. Not a true dragon but dragon.
For example here is the franchise's main wyvern:
[img]http://cdn.staticneo.com/w/monsterhunter/1/19/400px-RathalosDifference.png[/IMG]