# Dragon ID



## Foozil (Feb 6, 2018)

G'day,

A friend of mine found this little dragon out at Winton, QLD and we're just wondering if anybody here can ID it?





Thanks,


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## Nero Egernia (Feb 7, 2018)

Rankin's Bearded Dragon (_Pogona henrylawsoni_). 

I've only seen pictures of them. The appearance, beard display and area sounds right, however.


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## Foozil (Feb 7, 2018)

Nero Egernia said:


> Rankin's Bearded Dragon (_Pogona henrylawsoni_).
> 
> I've only seen pictures of them. The appearance, beard display and area sounds right, however.


Thanks, I'll let them know!


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## Bluetongue1 (Feb 7, 2018)

Definitely agree. You can see a ‘beard’ under the throat in the second photo, which identifies it as a pogona species. The weakly developed beard, two rows of paravertebral pale blotches, and rows of scattered small spines along the flanks, (between 1 and 4 in number) which continue a short distance onto the base of the tail, identify it as _henrylawsoni_. It also has the characteristic light-edged dark streak running back from the eye. This is the only pogona naturally occurring in the region. 

Have re-written it as close as possible to original post which I somehow lost


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## Foozil (Feb 7, 2018)

Thanks @Bluetongue1


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## ronhalling (Feb 9, 2018)

Isn't the Pogona Henrylawsoni the pygmy bearded dragon ???


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## Scutellatus (Feb 9, 2018)

ronhalling said:


> Isn't the Pogona Henrylawsoni the pygmy bearded dragon ???


That's the one Ron.
Pygmy/Black Soil/Rankin's/Lawson's Bearded Dragon.


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## Foozil (Feb 9, 2018)

ronhalling said:


> Isn't the Pogona Henrylawsoni the pygmy bearded dragon ???


Yep


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## pinefamily (Feb 9, 2018)

Scutellatus said:


> That's the one Ron.
> Pygmy/Black Soil/Rankin's/Lawson's Bearded Dragon.



More names than John Mellencamp.


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## GBWhite (Feb 9, 2018)

Worth a read for anyone interested. Title "Why it Should be Lawson's Dragon and not Rankin's Dragon"

http://www.lihs.org/files/caresheets/rankin.htm

I'll add a bit more of what I know of the name Rankin's Dragon. It was Richard and Ross' (that's Wells and Wellington) intention to name it Pogoda rankini in remembrance of a good and close friend of both mine and Richard's by the name of Peter Rankin who was not only a great young bloke but a very promising up and coming herpetologist that unfortunately met an early and untimely death while undertaking field work New Caledonia.

George


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## Scutellatus (Feb 9, 2018)

GBWhite said:


> Worth a read for anyone interested. Title "Why it Should be Lawson's Dragon and not Rankin's Dragon"
> 
> http://www.lihs.org/files/caresheets/rankin.htm
> 
> ...


More great information from a member of the 'Brains Trust'.
Thanks George.


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## Bluetongue1 (Feb 10, 2018)

Peter Rankin was not only a top bloke but he was incredibly dedicated to herprtology. He was working at the Australian Museum, basically as Hal Cogger’s understudy, while he was doing his uni studies. On herp trips he’d invariably take his museum gear and preserve any specimens of interest to take back to the museum. No-one doubted he was would take Hal’s place one day. Unfortunately fate intervened. To this day I can still recall being told and the feeling of disbelief. The genus for Mountain Dragons, Rankini, is named after him.

His mum and dad were really supportive of him generally and his herpetological interests in particular. Following his death they worked together to organise a scholarship in his name, which came to fruition a few years later. The Peter Rankin Trust Fund for Herpetology provides an annual grant to help finance the herpetological research of a budding herpetologist and is administered through the Australian Museum.


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