Soon after the season three finale of “House of the Dragon” aired on HBO on August 9, Discover Magazine reported that the record-breaking fantasy series had inspired the name of a new species in western Thailand.
Scientists Poramad and Krittiya Trivalairat had climbed to an elevation of 4,396 feet in Thailand’s Mae Wong National Park to survey the location for dwarf mountain horned dragons.
Instead, they discovered a new type of horned dragon lizard that had never been recorded before: Acanthosaura syrax.
And it bore an uncanny resemblance to a fan-favorite dragon in the “Game of Thrones” universe.
“The specific epithet syrax is a noun in apposition, named in reference to the dragon ‘Syrax,’ the mount of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen,” the Trivalairats and their peers observed in the study, which was published in the scientific journal Zookeys on July 31.
“This name is inspired by the species’ distinctive yellow-hued coloration, its relatively diminutive size compared to its congeners, and its significant reproductive output, reflected in its high clutch size.”
In the study, the researchers recommended that the local government and national park authorities strengthen protections for the high-elevation habitats — not just for the newly discovered lizard, but for the other imperiled species that call the region home.
“We recommend adopting this new species together with other threatened creatures: Asian forest tortoise, Oldham’s leaf turtle, grey-sided thrush, rufous-necked hornbill, and the Indochinese tiger as flagship representatives for the Mae Wong region to draw scientific and public attention to the conservation of Thailand’s rapidly changing mountain ecosystems.”
This is far from the first time that pop culture has inspired naming conventions in the scientific community.
In 2025, a glossy black wolf snake, Lycodon irwini, was named after beloved “Crocodile Hunter” star Steve Irwin.
That same year, scientists named a new species of half-male, half-female spider Damarchus inazuma after Inazuma, a genderfluid “One Piece” character.
Not long before, a species of soft coral was named Iridogorgia chewbacca after the beloved Wookie in the “Star Wars” franchise.
And back in 2023, Harrison Ford inspired the name of a new species of snake discovered in Peru’s Andes Mountains. The gesture was ironic, given the actor’s famous “Indiana Jones” quote: “Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?”
“These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it’s always the ones that terrify children,” he joked in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t understand. I spend my free time cross-stitching. I sing lullabies to my basil plants so they won’t fear the night.”
Ford, who has been an environmental advocate for decades and also inspired the name of an ant (Pheidole harrisonfordi) and a spider (Calponia harrisonfordi), then dropped the bit to express his gratitude.
“In all seriousness, this discovery is humbling,” he said. “It’s a reminder that there’s still so much to learn about our wild world — and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere.”
“On this planet, all fates are intertwined, and right now, one million species are teetering on the edge of oblivion. We have an existential mandate to mend our broken relationship with nature and protect the places that sustain life.”
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Featured Image: Courtesy of Theo Whiteman/HBO
