Bearded Dragon Facts: What’s in a name?

Hey guys,

For my first post, I’d like to tell you about the naming conventions used for bearded dragons.

NOTE: If you’re looking for a list of ideas for bearded dragon names, click here.

Although the term ‘Bearded Dragon’ is, by far, the most common name for these creatures, occasionally you may hear other terms used.

Some of these terms are the scientific names used for classification, whilst others are simply different words that mean the same thing.

Bearded Dragon Facts

Below is a list of names that may be used to described the bearded dragon to help you understand their context when used in different situation.

Lizard

The Bearded Dragon belongs to a class of animals called reptiles (that also includes snakes), that is further divided into a sub-order called lizards (or lacerilia). Lizards typically have limbs and ears and range in size from tiny geckos to large komodo dragons. Bearded Dragons are somewhere in the middle.

Note: See below for more info on the scientific classification of bearded dragons.

Agamid (or Agaminae or Agamidae)

Lizards are divide again into a number of families, one of which is the Agamidae. These lizards are referred to as Agamids and again they they can be divided into sub-families, one of which is the Agaminae subfamily. Bearded dragons are from the Agamidae family and subfamily Agaminae.

Note: See below for more info on the scientific classification of bearded dragons.

Pogona

Below the family and subfamily classification groups, there are a number of genera. The bearded dragon belongs to the Pogona genus, which contains seven species and all seven are what we refer to as bearded dragons.

Note: See below for more info on the scientific classification of bearded dragons.

Pogona vitticeps

Pogona vitticeps is one of the seven species of pogona and refers to the most common species of bearded dragon to have as a pet. If you have a bearded dragon at home, it is very likely to be pogona vitticeps.

Note: See below for more info on the scientific classification of bearded dragons.

Central Bearded Dragon & Inland Bearded Dragon

The terms Central Bearded Dragon and Inland Bearded Dragon usually refer to the Pogona vitticeps species because they originate from the arid semi-desert regions of central Australia.

Scientific Classification of Bearded Dragons

Now you know why different names may be used to described bearded dragons, however it can seem a little overwhelming at first sight, so below I have provided the scientific classification details for them.

• Kingdom – Animalia (Animal)
• Phylum – Chordata
• Class – Reptilia (Reptile)
• Order – Squamata (Scaled)
• Sub-Order – Lacertilia (Lizard)
• Family – Agamidae (Agamid)
• Sub-Family – Agaminae
• Genus – Pogona (Bearded Dragon)
• Species – Pogona vitticeps (the most common domesticated species of bearded dragon)

You can get more information about bearded dragon terminology in my Bearded Dragon Dictionary.