--- title: Hellbender Lizard: Internet Reacts With Stranger Things Memes description: Photos of a lizard have gone viral as Stranger Things fans are convinced it's a monstrous Demodog from the hit Netflix series. canonical: https://time.com/5023559/viral-lizard-reactions/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-14T17:59:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:48:47.376Z og:title: The Internet Thinks This Lizard Could Be a Stranger Things Monster og:description: "Dart is that you?" og:url: https://time.com/5023559/viral-lizard-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d186ea4884a228/6988e323196cf4683104273c/dart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6613 og:image:height: 3720 og:image:alt: 2 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Thinks This Lizard Could Be a Stranger Things Monster twitter:description: "Dart is that you?" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d186ea4884a228/6988e323196cf4683104273c/dart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Internet Is Convinced This Giant Lizard Could Be an Evil Creature From _Stranger Things_ > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 14, 2017 5:59 PM UTC  Stranger Things Stranger Things Courtesy Netflix by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Nov 14, 2017 5:59 PM UTC The hellbender, also known as the hellbender [salamander](http://time.com/4152884/giant-salamander-found-in-cave-china/?iid=sr-link3), is an aquatic [giant salamander](http://time.com/3756550/car-sized-salamanders/?iid=sr-link4) that lives in the eastern part of North America. They are not dragons, demogorgons, or extras on the set of _Monsters Inc_., but that doesn’t stop the internet from having some fun with them. It all started when Twitter user @TyyyShannon posted a photo of a hellbender that he uncovered while doing some field research. Thanks to its pop culture doppelgangers, the lizard quickly became an internet phenomenon, eventually earning the distinction of becoming a [Twitter moment](https://twitter.com/i/moments/930210509177077760), [Mashable](http://mashable.com/2017/11/14/hellbender-salamander-goes-viral/?utm%5Fcid=hp-h-4) reported. Some people made the comparison to Dustin’s pet “lizard”, D’artagnan, who showed up in the second season of the Netflix series, [_Stranger Things_](http://time.com/5011841/stranger-things-death/?iid=sr-link8)_:_ > [](https://twitter.com/TyyyShannon/status/929476995997675520) > [](https://twitter.com/harryloveskiwiz/status/930107763400650752) > [](https://twitter.com/hollymostdope/status/930185530469502976) The researcher was on board with this comparison, calling it “a good way to end \[his\] field work”: > [](https://twitter.com/Fartley2/status/930164702612787200) Other people went retro, though, thinking that the lizard bore a resemblance to Toothless from the 2010 film _How To Train Your Dragon_. > [](https://twitter.com/sandropeace85/status/930111075911073792) > [](https://twitter.com/sandropeace85/status/930111246787137537) Some pop culture fans went even further back in pop culture history, though, comparing the Hellbender to something straight out of the 2001 film, _Monsters Inc_. > [](https://twitter.com/Keeennnny/status/930191183611088896) > [](https://twitter.com/polie%5Fbear/status/930262082217562113) While hellbenders may look like many of the internet’s favorite critters, they are their own unique creatures that are on the [brink of extinction](http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/08/16/photos-the-15-cutest-endangered-animals-in-the-world/slide/mexican-axolotl/?iid=sr-link9). Find out more about these little demogorgon lookalikes [here](https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131220-hellbender-salamander-conservation-endangered-animals-science/). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5023559/viral-lizard-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5023559/viral-lizard-reactions/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Convinced This Giant Lizard Could Be an Evil Creature From Stranger Things","datePublished":"2017-11-14T17:59:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:48:47.376Z","description":"\"It looks like the dragon from 'How To Train Your Dragon',\" said one internet commenter","url":"https://time.com/5023559/viral-lizard-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d186ea4884a228/6988e323196cf4683104273c/dart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02d186ea4884a228/6988e323196cf4683104273c/dart1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2","caption":"2","creditText":"Courtesy Netflix","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5023559/viral-lizard-reactions/","name":"The Internet Is Convinced This Giant Lizard Could Be an Evil Creature From Stranger Things"}}]}] ```