When people search for the types of bearded dragons, they usually mean one of two things. Some want the species: the different wild bearded dragons that live across Australia. Others want the morphs: hypo, leatherback, citrus and the other names on breeder listings. These are different questions, and most guides mix them up.
The short answer to the first one: there are eight kinds of bearded dragon, all in the genus Pogona and all native to Australia. The pet in your tank is almost certainly just one of them, the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). Every morph you have ever seen for sale is a variation of that one species. This guide covers all eight, explains why pets are nearly always the central, and shows how to tell what you have.
All types of bearded dragons at a glance
Taxonomists disagree on one point. The three dwarf bearded dragons are sometimes treated as subspecies of Pogona minor and sometimes as separate species. That is why you will see "six species" in some sources and "eight" in others. The animals are the same either way.
| Common name | Scientific name | Where it lives | Adult size | Kept as a pet? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central (inland) bearded dragon | Pogona vitticeps | Arid and semi-arid interior of central and eastern Australia | 40–60 cm (16–24 in) | Yes, the pet bearded dragon everywhere |
| Eastern bearded dragon | Pogona barbata | Eastern Australia, including suburbs of the big east-coast cities | Similar to the central | Rarely outside Australia |
| Rankin's / Lawson's dragon | Pogona henrylawsoni | Black-soil plains of central Queensland | About 25–30 cm (10–12 in) | Yes, in small numbers |
| Nullarbor bearded dragon | Pogona nullarbor | The Nullarbor Plain along the Great Australian Bight | Smaller than the central | Very rarely |
| Western dwarf bearded dragon | Pogona minor minor | Western and southern interior of Australia | Small and slender | Mostly within Australia |
| Mitchell's bearded dragon | Pogona minor mitchelli | Northwestern Australia | Small and slender | Mostly within Australia |
| Abrolhos dwarf bearded dragon | Pogona minor minima | The Houtman Abrolhos islands off Western Australia | Small | No |
| Kimberley / Drysdale River bearded dragon | Pogona microlepidota | The remote north Kimberley | The smallest of the group | No |
Sizes are approximate total lengths, snout to tail tip. Individuals vary, and for the rarely kept species there is much less measured data than for the central.
The species, one by one
Central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). The one everyone knows: a sturdy, wide-bodied lizard with spiky scales along its sides and a beard it puffs and darkens when stressed or displaying. Adults usually reach 40–60 cm and 300–600 grams. It adapts well to life in an enclosure, handles being picked up calmly, and has been captive-bred for so many generations that its care is thoroughly documented. The bearded dragon growth chart on this site is a chart for this species.
Eastern bearded dragon (Pogona barbata). Described by naturalists almost a century before the central, and the one Australians see on fences and roadsides along the east coast. It is about the same size as the central, but darker and more spiny around the beard. Outside Australia it is very rarely kept.
Rankin's dragon (Pogona henrylawsoni). Also called Lawson's dragon or the black-soil bearded dragon. It is roughly half the length of a central, with a rounder head, a stockier build and a much smaller, less spiny beard. It is the only other species kept as a pet in any real numbers in the US and Europe, but breeders are few and care information is thin. Crossed with centrals it produces the hybrid sold as a vittikin, which grows to an in-between size.
Nullarbor bearded dragon (Pogona nullarbor). A smaller dragon from the treeless limestone plain along the Great Australian Bight, recognisable by the pale, almost white bands across its brown back. It is rarely seen in captivity.
The dwarf bearded dragons (Pogona minor). Three slender, small-bodied forms from the west and northwest: the western dwarf, Mitchell's, and the Abrolhos dwarf, which lives only on a small group of islands off the Western Australian coast. Licensed keepers in Australia keep some of them. Elsewhere they are essentially unknown in the hobby.
Kimberley bearded dragon (Pogona microlepidota). The smallest and least known, found in the remote north Kimberley and rarely photographed, let alone kept.
Why your pet is almost certainly a central bearded dragon
Australia has banned the commercial export of its native wildlife since 1960. Every pet bearded dragon outside Australia comes from captive-bred lines that go back decades, and those lines are almost entirely Pogona vitticeps, with a small population of Rankin's dragons alongside. No other species reached the international pet trade in meaningful numbers.
So if your dragon came from a pet shop, an expo or a breeder in the US, UK, Europe or Asia, it is a central unless the seller told you otherwise and charged accordingly. That is good news. Everything written about bearded dragon care, including lighting, diet, brumation and healthy weights, is written about your animal.
Types vs morphs: hypo, leatherback and citrus are not species
This is where most "types of bearded dragons" lists go wrong. Hypo, translucent, zero, witblits, leatherback, silkback, dunner, and colour lines like red, citrus and orange are morphs. They are genetic or bred variations within the central bearded dragon. A citrus leatherback and a plain brown classic are the same species, with the same care needs and the same growth curve.
That also answers one of the most common questions, leatherback vs normal bearded dragon. A leatherback is a normal central with smaller, smoother back scales. It is not a different type. The whole morph system, including how the names stack and which traits you can see by eye, is covered in Bearded Dragon Morphs Explained. And if your dragon's colour keeps shifting from day to day, that is usually temperature or mood, not morph. See Bearded Dragon Color Change.
How to tell what type of bearded dragon you have
- Start with where it came from. Bought outside Australia from a normal source: it is a central. The rare exceptions are sold explicitly as Rankin's or vittikins, at a different price.
- Check the adult size. An adult that reaches 40 cm or more is a central. A fully grown adult that stays around 25–30 cm, with a short, rounded head and a small beard, points to a Rankin's or a vittikin.
- Look at the beard. Centrals and easterns have a large, spiny beard they can puff out dramatically. Rankin's dragons have a much smaller one with fewer spines.
- Ask for the paperwork. A vittikin can look like a small central. The only reliable answer is the breeder's record of the parents.
Step 2 is the one that needs a record. You only know a dragon has finished growing if you have its weights and lengths over time, and a one-off measurement tells you nothing about whether it is a small adult or a young central.
That is why we built Beardie Days: each dragon gets a profile with its morph, sex, acquisition date, growth stage, and weights in grams and lengths in centimetres logged over time. There is also a lineage tree that links parents to offspring. If you keep a Rankin's or a vittikin, write the species or cross into the morph field and link the parents, so the record exists when a buyer or a vet asks. Everything stays on your device, you can export to CSV, and it is free for your first dragon. Premium, for more dragons, is $3.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $49.99 once.
Frequently asked questions
How many types of bearded dragons are there?
There are eight commonly recognised kinds of bearded dragon, all in the genus Pogona and all native to Australia: the central, eastern, Rankin's, Nullarbor, Kimberley and three dwarf bearded dragons (western, Mitchell's and Abrolhos). Some taxonomies count the three dwarfs as subspecies of one species, which gives six species; others count them separately. Morphs such as hypo, leatherback or citrus are not types of bearded dragon; they are variations bred within one species, the central bearded dragon.
What type of bearded dragon is best as a pet?
The central bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps, which is also the one you will actually find for sale. It has been captive-bred for decades, so its diet, lighting, enclosure size and growth curve are well documented, and vets and keepers know it well. Rankin's dragon is a smaller option kept in limited numbers, but it has far less care information and it is harder to find a breeder. Other species are rarely kept outside Australia.
What is a Rankin's dragon?
A Rankin's dragon, also called Lawson's dragon or the black-soil bearded dragon, is Pogona henrylawsoni, a smaller bearded dragon from the black-soil plains of central Queensland. Adults reach roughly 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 inches), about half the length of a central bearded dragon, with a rounder head and a much smaller, less spiny beard. It is kept as a pet in small numbers, and crossed with central dragons it produces a hybrid sold as a vittikin.
Is a leatherback a different type of bearded dragon?
No. A leatherback is a central bearded dragon with a scale mutation: smaller, smoother scales on the back while the spikes along the sides and beard stay. It is a morph, not a species. The same is true of silkback, hypo, translucent, zero, dunner and the colour lines like red and citrus. They are all the same animal with the same care needs, except that silkbacks need extra skin care because they have no scales.
Species, morph, parents, weights: one profile.
Log growth in grams, link parents to offspring, and keep the paperwork where you'll find it. On-device, exportable to CSV.
Download Beardie Days on the App Store →Related: Bearded Dragon Morphs Explained, Bearded Dragon Growth Chart and Bearded Dragon Care Guide. Questions? Email us.