Fire-lizard
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The Fire-lizard (origionally called a 'dragonet'), is a life form indigenous to the fictional planet Pern. They take the form of a small, dragon-like reptile about 2ft long, though size varies with coloration. They have six limbs: four legs and two wings. It is theorized that their wings originally were a third pair of legs which evolved to give the fire-lizards the ability to fly.
Evolved to fight Thread, they can breathe fire by chewing a phosphine bearing rock (called "firestone") to sear thread from the sky.
They are telepathic, can go between, come in varied colours and seem to object to being studied by scientists.
However, later in the Pern novels, it is discovered that fire-lizards can be bonded to humans as pets and protecters. Unlike dragons, fire-lizards impress to anyone who offers them food, usually meat. They have limited intelligence, and can only "speak" by sending images to their owners via telepathy. They can, however, portray feelings when need be. Often, they are regarded as a nuisance.
Originally discovered by Sorka Hanrahan and Sean Connell during First Landing. DNA from fire-lizards was manipulated to produce full size fire-breathing dragons who could fight thread on a much larger scale than the fire lizards.