Scientists discover a real life dragon in Thailand and name it after House of the Dragon's Syrax

[Marcus82]

Researchers have formally described a new species of lizard found in the high mountain forests of western Thailand, naming it Acanthosaura syrax after Syrax, the dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in HBO's House of the Dragon. The research team, led by Poramad Trivalairat and colleagues from Chulabhorn Royal Academy and Kasetsart University, published the formal description in the journal ZooKeys.

The species belongs to a group of agamid lizards called mountain horned dragons, recognizable by the spiny crests running along their neck and back. Researchers found it exclusively in evergreen forest inside Mae Wong National Park, in Tak-Kamphaeng Phet Province, at elevations above 1,300 meters, and it hasn't turned up anywhere else despite the broader genus being found across Southeast Asia. Its discovery brings the total number of recognized species in the genus Acanthosaura to 23.

The team chose the Syrax name deliberately rather than picking something random, based on three specific traits the real lizard shares with its fictional namesake. The dragon Syrax is known for striking yellow coloring, comparatively modest size relative to other dragons in the show, and for laying an unusually large clutch of eggs, and researchers found all three qualities echoed in the actual animal. Four of the five female specimens examined were carrying eggs, with clutch sizes ranging from six to sixteen, a notably large reproductive output for a lizard this size within its genus.

Beyond the fun naming choice, the discovery carries a real conservation concern. A. syrax appears confined to a narrow band of cool, high elevation forest, and researchers followed a strict seasonal activity pattern in the population, active from April through mid June before essentially vanishing during colder months when temperatures drop to around 10 degrees Celsius. That kind of narrow habitat and temperature dependency makes newly described mountain species like this one especially vulnerable to even modest climate shifts, and researchers are hoping the lizard's striking, pop culture friendly name helps it become something of a flagship species for protecting the specific mountain habitat it depends on

New mountain dragon lizard from Thailand named after Syrax from House of the Dragonwww.eurekalert.org