| MOLOCH | Genus comprising the Australian desert-living lizard known as the thorny devil |
| ANDES | Mountains in the Australian desert (5) |
| ALNUS | Genus comprising alder trees in the birch family (5) |
| NANOCHAMELEON | Possibly the smallest lizard known to science (4-9) |
| ROSEHIP | Fruit of the thorny scented-blossomed shrub used as a source of Vitamin C |
| KOMODO | ___ dragon, largest living lizard species that inhabits the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia (6) |
| SIMPSON | Central Australian desert that contains the world's largest parallel sand dunes |
| CHAMELEON | Lizard known for its ability to alter its skin coloration |
| HEARING | Cutting hedges optional - sense avoiding the thorny bits? (9,7) |
| SELECTIVE | Cutting hedges optional - sense avoiding the thorny bits? (9,7) |
| ADDAX | Large, desert-living, African antelope with long, twisted horns (5) |
| OUTED | Exposed old vehicle to Australian desert initiation (5) |
| MALLEE | Australian desert gum tree for little Malcolm Lee (6) |
| KOMODODRAGON | Largest living lizard species |
| KOMODOS | Largest living lizards, to pet lovers |
| SCOTT | Author of the Raj Quartet comprising The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence and A Division of the Spoils (5) |
| LESSERANTILLES | Island group in the Caribbean Sea formerly known as the Caribbees, chiefly comprising the Windward and Leeward islands (6,8) |
| PLIOCENE | Second of the two epochs comprising the Neogene period, between the Miocene and the Pleistocene (8) |
| ROWLING | Author who wrote the Cormoran Strike trilogy comprising The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm and Career of Evil under the pen name of Robert Galbraith (7) |
| BEAR | Any of the eight living species of mammal comprising the family Ursidae, in the order Carnivora (4) |
