A photograph shows a species of flying lizard that resembles a dragon.
Nearly every time we've been asked about a dragon sighting we've had to regretfully inform our audience that dragons just do not exist outside of fantasy books and movies. No, a dragon didn't fall from the sky in Tibet. No, a dragon skeleton was not found in Iceland. No, a dragon was not killed in Malaysia. But then, in June 2021, we came across a photograph that supposedly showed a 'flying lizard' from Southeast Asia. While we still stand by the determination that dragons exist solely in fictional realms, this is about as close as you can get to one in the real world. The above-displayed animal does not blow fire, live atop a pile of gold in a dark cave, or grow to an enormous size like its fictional dragon counterparts, but this is a genuine picture of a species of lizard known as 'flying lizards,' 'flying dragons,' or 'gliding lizards.' We haven't been able to definitively determine the lizard species, but this is some type of draco, a genus of agamid lizards that is known for its ability to glide. This photograph appears to show either a Draco volans, known as the common flying dragon, the Draco quinquefasciatus, the five-banded gliding lizard, or Draco taeniopterus, the Thai flying dragon, which is pictured below: In any case, the critter pictured here is a lizard that is capable of gliding. Here's a BBC video about the similar black-bearded draco: Ecology Asia describes the barred gliding lizard, writing: The Barred Gliding Lizard is one of the smaller species of the genus Draco: males have a snout-vent length of 8 cm, and females are slightly smaller. It occurs in lowland forest, and is generally found less than 10 metres above the ground (Grismer, 2011). Like other species of Draco, it probably feeds on small ants. [...] The ground colour of the body is brown, with poorly defined darker and lighter mottling, and vague, narrow, dark banding. The upper surface of the gliding membrane, or patagium, bears greenish-yellow and blackish banding, and has a dull red border. This species occurs in Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and the extreme north of Peninsular Malaysia (Perlis state, and a single, remote island in Kedah state). Another species of Draco lizard made an appearance in the 'Jungle' episode of the BBC's 'Planet Earth II': We haven't been able to source the specific photograph that went viral in June 2021. While we can't say when or where this picture was taken, this photograph appears to show a genuine species of gliding lizard that is frequently referred to as a 'flying dragon.' 
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