---
title: "Thorny Devil"
description: "Moloch horridus — Reptiles. The thorny devil (Moloch horridus), also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/thorny-devil
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Thorny Devil

> Moloch horridus — Reptiles. The thorny devil (Moloch horridus), also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae.

- Scientific name: *Moloch horridus*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: `desert` (Desert)
- iNaturalist observations: 808
- Wikidata: [Q320665](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q320665)
- iNaturalist taxon: [31519](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/31519)

## Names

- en: Thorny Devil
- de: Dornteufel
- es: Diablo Espinoso
- fr: Diable cornu
- nl: Bergduivel
- pt: Diabo-espinhoso
- pl: Moloch straszliwy

## Countries with the most observations

AU (768)

## Summary

The thorny devil (Moloch horridus), also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Australia. It is the sole species in the genus Moloch. It grows up to 21 cm (8.3 in) in total length (including tail), with females generally larger than males.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorny_devil

## Photo

![Thorny Devil](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/thorny-devil/medium.jpg)

Photo: wilmotsenaratne · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/373171087

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/thorny-devil?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).