George R.R. Martin feels proud to have a dinosaur named after one of his dragons

Since the beginning of time, dragons have been a part of mythology and many different civilizations all over the world. Although dragons have only ever existed in fiction, millions of years ago, the planet was home to animals remarkably identical to them. Dinosaurs dominated the globe once, and enormous theropods measuring ten meters in length tormented the densely wooded landmasses. A well-known dragon from George R. R. Martin‘s Game of Thrones realm inspired the naming of a recently discovered fossil.

George R. R. Martin comes to know about a dinosaur named Meraxes

Dinosaurs have been part of pop culture for a really long time. And Martin felt honored to see a dino named after one of his creations. He wrote on his blog Not A Blog:

“Well, this is cool. It would appear that I have my own dinosaur. Say hello to MERAXES.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tiny-arm-dinosaur-meraxes-argentina

He has a big head and little bitty arms, like Tyrannosaurus Rex, to whom he is not related. He cannot fly or breathe fire, alas. (Though maybe that’s for the best). He hails from Argentina.

Queen Rhaenys would have been very pleased.

I know I am.”

Rhaenys Targaryen and Meraxes, by Alexandra Boshevska

Who is Meraxes?

Meraxes, a she-dragon, was ridden by Queen Rhaenys Targaryen during Aegon’s Conquest, as written in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. One of Old Valyria’s gods inspired the dragon’s name. Compared to Balerion, Meraxes was smaller but still larger than Vhagar at the time.

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