Thunder lizard

Thunder lizards are large, heavy-set dinosaurs that are implied to be distant relatives of the kodo. They are aggressive beasts that prefer canyons, plains, jungles, and forests. When in combat, they are capable of shooting lightning from their mouth at distance and dole out harsh headbutts at close range. Thunder lizards come in a wide variety of colors, including black, blue, gray, pink, and red. They can be found in the Barrens, Desolace, Durotar, Stonetalon Mountains and Vol'dun.

It is said that some rare kodos are bound to the spirits of the sky and storm. Thus, the tauren have legends about those they call lightning lizards, thunder lizards and storm walkers. Whether or not these behemoths actually have supernatural powers remains to be seen.

Vol'dun was once a lush jungle and the home of many great and powerful thunder lizards. Now their bones rest around the Temple of Akunda.

Warcraft III

 * Lightning Lizard
 * Thunder Lizard
 * Storm Wyrm
 * Monsoon Wyrm (Old Hatreds only)

In Warcraft III, thunder lizards appeared in a variety of forms, including storm wyrms and lightning lizards. Rather than shooting lightning from their horns, they shot it from their mouths. The salamanders and thunder lizards looked very similar, indicating that they are, perhaps, related somehow, as one or the other was a simple reskin of the first. Thunder Ridge holds a massive amount of thunder lizards, and have already appeared in The Frozen Throne bonus campaign (starring Rexxar). In Warcraft III, Thunder Ridge thunder lizards were green, but in World of Warcraft they are red-skinned.

Eastern Kingdoms thunder lizards appeared in the missions The Culling and A Dark Covenant.

Fighting thunder lizards
Attacks which interrupt the spellcasting of NPCs such as the rogue's Kick, the shaman's Earth Shock, and the warrior's Shield Bash are also effective against these lizards. When you see the lightning building up in its mouth, hit it with the counter to casting used by your class and you won't have to worry about getting hit by any lightning bolts... you'll only have to worry about being trampled, gored, or crushed by a huge and irate reptile.

Thunder Lizards are hostile, whereas kodos are neutral, and will not aggro unless attacked.

Known species

 * Burrowing Thundersnout
 * Cliff Stormer
 * Elder Thunder Lizard
 * Lightning Hide
 * Raging Cliff Stormer (extinct)
 * Raging Thunder Lizard
 * Rejuvenated Thunder Lizard
 * Stormhide
 * Stormsnout
 * Thunder Lizard
 * Drowned Thunder Lizard
 * Thunderhead
 * Thunderstomp

Named

 * Akunda is the thunder lizard loa
 * Hornsley
 * Margol the Rager
 * Owatanka
 * Skum

Subspecies

 * Thunder Lizard
 * Lightning Lizard
 * Storm Wyrm (also known as a "Storm Walker")

Relatives

 * Kodo
 * Salamander

As a battle pet

 * Son of Skum (companion) is rewarded from Pet Battle Challenge: Wailing Caverns.
 * Thundering Scale of Akunda is a rare drop from the Conclave of the Chosen in Battle of Dazar'alor.

As a hunter pet
Thunder lizards are tamable by hunters as part of the Scalehide family, along with ankylodons, mushan, kodos and stegodons.

Notes and trivia

 * In Cycle of Hatred, Aegwynn said that the word "kodo" used to refer to thunder lizards in the past. However, the two creatures are clearly not the same species and this is probably a mistake. The creatures are related, but are not identical.
 * Thunder Lizards are capable of generating electricity even some time after death. Drowned Thunder Lizards in Thunder Ridge continue to regularly emit bursts of electricity strong enough stun any nearby humanoids, long after their deaths.
 * Thunder Lizard tail also appears to hold some innate electricity-generating properties, even after death. If the tail is cut off a dead Thunder Lizard, it is possible to use it to send out a blast of electricity strong enough instantly kill smaller creatures nearby.