This tiny Thai lizard shares its name with a ‘House of the Dragon’ beast

Researchers surveying Mae Wong National Park in western Thailand have described a new horned lizard species, Acanthosaura syrax, named for the yellow dragon ridden by a character in House of the Dragon.

The lizard is tiny — females top out around 10 centimeters, males under 7 — but lay surprisingly large clutches of 6 to 16 eggs. It's found only above 1,300 meters elevation, in populations the researchers say are naturally fragmented by rugged terrain, limiting gene exchange and raising inbreeding risk.

The study's authors frame the find as evidence of how much biodiversity remains undocumented in Thailand's forests, and hope it draws attention to conservation needs for high-altitude species that can't simply move to cooler ground because there isn't any.

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