The last thing we need is flying lizards competing for airspace with birds, drones, and aircraft.
Published Nov 18, 2014
");}else if(is_tablet()){slot_number++;document.write("Advertisment:
");} Claim:A photograph captures a "satanic leaf-tailed gecko" or a "flying lizard" with wings like a dragon.
On 12 November 2014, the Twitter account @EarthBeauties posted a photograph of what was claimed to be a "satanic leaf-tailed gecko":
Nearly four years later, the "Pictures in History" Facebook page posted the same photograph, describing the pictured creature as a "flying lizard":
The animal seen here is indeed a type of lizard known as the satanic leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus), but it does not actually have wings. Those dragon-like appendages were added to a photograph taken by author, entomologist, and photographer Piotr Naskrecki.
Naskrecki, who is also the photographer behind the amazing "puppy-sized spider" photographs, posted the unaltered images of the gecko on his blog The Smaller Majority on 22 September 2012:
The gecko grew wings about a year later when the photograph was posted to the Hybrid Animals subreddit, which encourages participants to "Create new animals by combining species with each other and/or with any other stuff you find appropriate. Using Photoshop."
The altered photograph began spreading online and received a big viral push on 9 June 2013 when it was retweeted by the Game Of Thrones Twitter account:
DRACARYS! RT @fascinatingpics Satanic leaf-tailed Gecko. It's like a real life Dragon! https://t.co/MytwFSH0Qw
— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) June 9, 2013
The doctored photograph of the satanic leaf-tailed gecko has seen a few spikes in popularity since it first went viral in 2013, and it will likely see a few more surges over the years. But regardless of how many times the image goes viral, this species of gecko will never sprout wings nor become a member of the dragon family.
Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.
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