Harmless · Native to Australia · Kept as a pet

Rankin’s dragon

Pogona henrylawsoni Wells & Wellington, 1985

Also called Lawson’s dragon, black-soil bearded dragon
Data updated October 2026

Rankin’s dragon standing on a sandstone rock with its head raised
Fig. 1 — Adult perched on a rock, head raised.
Close view of a Rankin’s dragon’s head and orange-tinted front leg on sandy ground with dry twigs
Fig. 2 — The head is short and rounded; the throat beard is small.

At a glance

The smallest of the bearded dragons, a compact lizard of the black-soil plains of central and western Queensland. It is kept and bred as a pet, but little has been published about its life in the wild.

01

Identification

A small, compact dragon with a short, rounded head. Rows of soft spiny scales run along the flanks, and the beard on the throat is small. Color is tan, grayish or orange-brown, often with rows of paler blotches down the back. It looks like a scaled-down central bearded dragon with a shorter snout.

  1. 01Small size. About 12 inches (30 cm) long including the tail.
  2. 02Short, rounded head. Shorter-snouted than the central bearded dragon, with only a small beard.
  3. 03Spiny flanks and pale blotches. Soft spines along the sides; pale spots or blotches on the back.

Commonly confused with

The central bearded dragon is larger, with a longer, more triangular head and a bigger spiny beard.

02

Size

01 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft Typical adult · about 12 in (30 cm)

Rankin’s dragon is the smallest bearded dragon. Adults measure about 5 to 6 inches (13–15 cm) from snout to vent and about 12 inches (30 cm) including the tail.

03

Range & habitat

Rankin’s dragon on bare gravelly soil at night
Fig. 3 — An adult on bare, stony soil among sparse plants.

Rankin’s dragon is found only in Queensland, Australia, in the central and northwestern parts of the state. It lives on the open black-soil plains, or downs, around towns such as Winton, a habitat that gives it several of its common names. The country is a dry transition zone toward semi-desert.

The name “Rankin’s dragon” is widely used in the pet trade but is not the formal common name; Australian sources call it the downs or black-soil bearded dragon.

04

Diet

Its wild diet has not been studied in detail. In captivity it is fed mainly insects such as crickets and roaches, along with chopped leafy greens and vegetables.

Feeds on

  • Insects (crickets, roaches)
  • Leafy greens
  • Chopped vegetables
House cricket on a plain surface
Insect food — crickets.
Bunch of collard greens
Plant food — dark leafy greens.

05

Behavior & seasons

Rankin’s dragons are active by day. When several are kept together, males establish a dominance hierarchy.

Like other bearded dragons from inland Australia, they go through a cool-season rest. In captivity breeders give them about two months of cooler conditions before the breeding season.

06

Reproduction

Females lay eggs. In captivity they lay clutches of about 5 to 18 eggs, some two to three weeks after mating, and can produce up to five clutches in a season.

07

Conservation

The species does not appear on lists of conservation concern. Like other lizards of the downs country, it faces general pressures from land clearing, introduced species, feral predators and traffic on roads.

08

In captivity

Its needs are similar to those of the central bearded dragon on a smaller scale: a dry enclosure with a warm basking spot, a cooler area, full-spectrum UVB lighting, and a diet of live insects with leafy greens. Keepers often provide a cool-season rest before breeding.

Reported lifespans in captivity are about 10 to 15 years. See our bearded dragon care guide →

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages