They all come from Australia, but in total there are 9 types of bearded dragons (sub species of Pogona)

There are 9 different types of Bearded Dragons species, these are:

• Pogona Barbata / Coastal or Eastern Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Henrylawsoni / Rankins or Lawsons Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Microlepidota / Small Scaled or Drysdale River Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Minor Minor / Dwarf Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Minor Minima / Western Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Minor Mitchelli / Mitchells Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Nullarbor / Nullarbor Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Vitticeps / Inland or Central Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Vittikins / Naturally occurring and captive crossbreed between P. Vitticeps and P. Henrylawsoni (aka P. Rankini)

Pogona Barbata / Coastal or Eastern Bearded Dragon

Pogona Henrylawsoni / Lawsons Bearded Dragon

Pogona Microlepidota / Small Scaled or Drysdale River Bearded Dragon

Pogona Minor Minor / Dwarf Bearded Dragon

Pogona Minor Minima / Western Bearded Dragon

Pogona Minor Mitchelli / Mitchells Bearded Dragon

Pogona Nullarbor / Nullarbor Bearded Dragon

Pogona Vitticeps / Central Bearded Dragon

Short answer: because they can make it look like they have a beard.

The long answer: The Bearded Dragon is so called because of it’s ability to indicate a range of behaviours using it’s throat that make it look like it has a beard. This area of skin around their throat is also known as the gular pouch.

They’re able to distend (enlarge by stretching) the gular pouch and by doing this the spikes along their throat often extend outwards, making them look much bigger and threatening. They also change the colour of their throat to a dark grey. Combined with the enlargement it makes them look as if they have a beard.

They have 2 distinct appearances from extending their gular fold. First is normally during courtship and normally seen with their head bobbing behaviour, here you’ll see a darkened throat but their throat will look more bloated/bulbous puffed up. Generally their mouth will be closed.

The alternative (pictured above) is that their throat goes very dark with a more noticeable fanning out of the spikes at the back of their throat and a less puffed up look, they’ll also widely open their mouths to both show their teeth to look aggressive and to aid in the extension of the back of their gular pouch. When you see this, it’s a response to a perceived threat.

Bearded Dragons are the common name for given to a small group of lizards known also as Pogona which are found only throughout Australia.

Pogona are a genus of Agaminae, which is one of six sub families of Agamidae. Agaminae refers to the family of Agamids that are found throughout Africa, Asia and Australia. Pogona are also listed under the Agamidae sub family, Amphibolurinae, which are found throughout Australia and New Guinea.

The Bearded Dragon is classified scientifically with the following taxonomy:

Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Sub order: Lacertilia
Infraorder: Iguania
Family: Agamidae
Sub Family: Agaminae
Genus: Pogona
Species: Bearded dragons are classified into the following species

• Pogona Barbata / Coastal or Eastern Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Henrylawsoni / Rankins or Lawsons Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Microlepidota / Small Scaled or Drysdale River Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Minor Minor / Dwarf Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Minor Minima / Western Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Minor Mitchelli / Mitchells Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Nullarbor / Nullarbor Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Vitticeps / Inland or Central Bearded Dragon
• Pogona Vittikins / Naturally occuring and captive crossbreed between P. Vitticeps and P. Henrylawsoni (aka P. Rankini)

Read more about bearded dragon species.

The common features of Agamid Lizards

• Tails do not regenerate
• Strong legs (Can move pretty fast when they need to)
• Semi-arboreal (spend some of their time in trees)
• Excellent vision
• Diurnal (active during the day)
• Primarily found in hot, arid environments (scrubland)
• Feeds upon insects, spiders, worms, vegetation and in larger species some small mammals.
• Teeth are arranged in an Acrodont formation (positioned on the outer rim of the jaw)

Additional features of Pogona

• They can partially change colours to reflect their mood and for communicating/ mating.
• Adults can inflate their throat (gular fold) and change it’s colour When threatened, they will puff up the beard and it will turn very dark.
• Spiney scales – location is varied between species of Pogona, in the most common, these are along the jaw, back of the head and along the sides of the body.
• Able to swim (More on bearded dragons swimming)

In the wild, Bearded Dragons are originally from Australia, however, there are different species in different parts of the country.

There are a total of 9 types of Bearded Dragon, they all originate from Australia and are all part of the same family. The Pogona Vittikins is a cross breed that naturally occurs between the Vitticeps and Lawsons/ Brevis Bearded Dragons.

Since the 1960s the export of Bearded Dragons outside of Australia became illegal. This means that all beardies found outside of Australia are captive bred and descend probably from dragons that were illegally exported. It also means that the genetic diversity may be limited in the captive bred population. There were rumors that most dragons in the US were bred from stock in Germany (Illegally exported from Australia) back in the 1980s.

The Bearded Dragon has since gone on to be one of the staples of the exotic pet trade and is now commonly found in most pet stores – however, it’s not always legal to sell Bearded Dragons, different states, countries, provinces etc… have different rules and licenses for different species.

Where are Bearded Dragons Found?

Bearded Dragons are found in the wild in a variety of habitats which are difficult to reproduce in the confines of a vivarium. They are semi-aboreal meaning they like to climb, they live in scrubland, desert, rocky areas, coasts, woodlands and this depends upon the species location. Different species will have slight differences in tolerance of environmental factors such as UVB, humidity and temperature but are all within a common range to the Pogona family.

On the below map the main 8 species locations are marked and showing the overlap between them.

1. Eastern Australia but has been found centrally as well as in the South
2. Found in central/ western Queensland, Australia
3. Western and central Australia
4. Western Australia and the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Albrohos Islands
5. North western Australia
6. Small coastal region (Drysdale river) in north Kimberley, in North West Australia
7. Nullarbor plain, South Australia
8. Central Australia

If you want to share this map feel free to use the following code:
</p><br /><br /> <p><strong>Please include attribution to Beardeddrac0 with this graphic.</strong></p><br /><br /> <p><a href=’https://www.beardeddraco.com/where-do-bearded-dragons-come-from/’><img src=’https://www.beardeddraco.com/where-do-bearded-dragons-come-from/where-do-bearded-dragons-come-from/’ alt=’where-do-bearded-dragons-come-from’ 718px border=’0′ /></a></p><br /><br /> <p>

The data on this map was compiled with the aid of the following sources:

• http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz
• http://www.environment.gov.au
• http://bie.ala.org.au
• http://users.erols.com/ziring/

Outside of Australia you’ll find Pogona Vitticeps (Central/Inland Bearded Dragon) and Pogona Henry Lawsoni (Rankins Bearded Dragon) are common in the pet trade, very rarely Pogona Barbata will turn up in the trade in the US from specialised breeders. Almost all colour morphs and variations are likely to be Pogona Vitticeps. Typically you don’t need a license to keep them as a hobbyist.

Within Australia you’re able to keep most species of Bearded Dragon, but will need to be a licensed keeper and this depends upon the species and territory that you’re in, for example, in NSW you can keep:

• Pogona Barbata (Common Bearded Dragon)
• Pogona Henrylawsoni (Downs Bearded Dragon)
• Pogona Minor Minima (Western Bearded Dragon)
• Pogona Minor Minor (Dwarf Bearded Dragon)
• Pogona Vitticeps (Central Bearded Dragon)

With a class 1 license, but you need a class 2 license to keep:

• Pogona Microlepidota (Small-scaled Bearded Dragon)

But you can’t keep Pogona Nullarbor or Pogona Minor Mitchelli. In Western Australia, you can only keep Pogona Minor Minor (Western Bearded Dragon) under a class 2 license and none of the others.

Whether you live in or outside of Australia, always check that you’re buying a legally captive bred Bearded Dragon. If you live outside of Australia and you see species other than a Vitticeps or Lawsons/ Rankins then question the legality of it and where it’s come from and it’s lineage

Are bearded dragons good pets? To answer this question we decided to write a detailed article. In this article, we’ll be talking about whether or not bearded dragons make good pets. We will try not to be biased. We will try to include both the pros and cons of having a bearded dragon.

Bearded dragons are rapidly becoming one of the most popular pets in the United States. Their nature, personality, ease of care and lifespan make them great pets for anyone.

Are Bearded Dragons Good Pets?

Here are the top 10 points that make bearded dragons good pets.

1. Handling

Typically bearded dragons are really easy to handle. As long as you handle them when they’re younger and that way they’ll tolerate you handling them when they get older.

2. Morphs

Bearded dragons are available in a vast variety of colors and morphs. You can get a pure white, orange, red and many other colors which are done through selective breeding.

3. Care Requirements

Bearded dragons are typically really easy to care for, but this is only if you have the correct equipment. Dragons need UVB light and heat equipment to be able to absorb the calcium properly.

So, dragons are really easy to care for just make sure you have the right equipment. Here is a list of things you will need for your dragon.

4. Average Adult Size

Bearded dragons also need a large amount of space because they can grow up to around 18 to 24 inches long.

5. Cost

As bearded dragons need specialist equipment, therefore, cost wise, they are usually costly. Usually, the equipment, the housing and all other important tools are more expensive than the actual bearded dragon.

A bearded dragon costs somewhere between 25 to 50 dollars in the US, but of course, this can be higher depending on the color you choose. But the equipment, housing, and food will cost more than 250 to 300 dollars.

6. Life Span

Bearded dragons live for a relatively long time. They live between about 8 to 14 years. Bearded dragon lifespan always depends on how you care for them.

7. Diet

Bearded dragons are omnivores. This means that they can eat vegetables, fruits, and live insects. Here is a list of foods you can feed your bearded dragon.

8. Personality / Characteristics

All bearded dragons are not the same. Personality wise they do differ. They have some quirky characteristics. If it gets stressed it will puff out its beard, hence the name. If bearded dragon wants to show dominance, they wave. If your housing bearded dragons together they do wave to each other and this may be due to them showing dominance over one another.

We suggest not housing them together as this can transmit diseases. They can also get injured fighting over territories

9. Not Noisy

Bearded dragons are relatively quiet animals. They don’t make any vocalization at all.

10. Not Smelly

Bearded dragons are also not smelly creatures as well. Like any other animal, if you do spot cleaning on a regular basis, they won’t smell. If you don’t spot clean them, it could lead to nasty infections and really bad health.

Conclusion

I would say bearded dragons make fantastic pets. They’re perfect for children as well. Like with any animal you should supervise them when they’re around children just to make sure that a child can handle a bearded of the dragon.

The only downside I would say is the cost of all of the equipment and enclosures, but the bearded dragon itself is normally not very costly. But overall I would recommend this as the best reptile.

if your are still confuse whether to buy it or not please see our post is bearded dragon right for you.