The greater short-horned lizard (''Phrynosoma hernandesi''), also commonly known as the mountain short-horned lizard, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to western North America. Like other horned lizards, it is often called a "horned toad" or "horny toad", but it is not a

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

at all. It is a reptile, not an

amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbor ...

n. It is one of seven native species of

lizards in Canada This is a list of the reptiles of Canada. Most species are confined to the southernmost parts of the country. All Canadian reptiles are composed of squamates and testudines. Conservation status - IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: : - Extinc ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''hernandesi'', honors Francisco Hernández (1514–1587) a Spanish physician who wrote an early account of a horned lizard, which was published in 1615.Sherbrooke, Wade C. (2003) ''Introduction to Horned Lizards of North America''. California Natural History Guides.

Identification

The greater short-horned lizard is often mistaken for its close relative the pygmy short-horned lizard (''Phrynosoma douglasii'' ), which has the same basic body type consisting of small pointed scales around the head and back. Until recent mitochondrial DNA evidence, ''P. hernandesi'' was considered to be the same species as ''P. douglasii''. They are now considered distinct species with the pygmy short-horned lizard (''P. douglasii'' ) occupying the northwest portion of the United States and extreme southern British Columbia. When placed together the two are easily distinguished at full size, the pygmy short-horned lizard being much smaller. ''P. hernandesi'' is a highly variable species with different geographic populations exhibiting differences in color, pattern and size with some authorities describing five subspecies. The greater short-horned lizard ranges in size from 2 to 5 inches (5.1 to 12.7 cm) in snout to vent length (SVL) and is a flat-bodied, squat lizard with scales around the top of the head, normally called a "crown". Stebbins, Robert C. (2003) ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians''. 3rd ed. Peterson Field Guides They have a snub-nosed profile and short legs. The trunk is fringed by one row of pointed scales, while the belly scales are smooth. The color is gray, yellowish, or reddish-brown, and there are two rows of large dark spots on the back. When threatened or aggressive, their colors become more intense. Females grow to larger sizes than males: females average about 7 cm (about 2.75 inches) from snout to vent, with a maximum total length of about 15 cm (about 6 inches), and weigh about 18 g; whereas males have an SVL of only about 5 cm (about 2 inches), and weigh on the average about 10 g.

Behavior

Short-horned lizards are "sit-and-wait" predators. They feed primarily on

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s, but also take an occasional grasshopper or

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

. Often, they can be found sitting in the vicinity of a nest or trails. They are diurnal creatures being most active during the evening and burrowing at night. They rely extensively on

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

to avoid predators. If provoked, some horned lizards can build up blood pressure in regions behind their eyes and accurately squirt their blood at attacking predators, which will deter

canids Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found within ...

from continuing their attack. It is rare for horned lizards to squirt blood at humans however, reserving this unique defense primarily for canids (i.e. foxes, coyotes, dogs), which have a strong reaction of distaste to the blood. Squirting blood has been observed in greater short-horned lizards, but has not been observed in pygmy short-horned lizards.

Reproduction

The mating season for this species is in spring (May to June). They are viviparous, giving live birth: the female births five to 48 offspring from July to September. The young measure about 24 mm from snout to vent and weigh each about 1 g. The young have no horns yet and are able to take care of themselves within a few hours; they are not able to fully crawl until they are a day old. Males become sexually active after their first year of life and females generally take two years before they can start reproducing.

Distribution

Short-horned-lizard-phrynosoma-douglassi

The greater short-horned lizard is the most widely distributed lizard in North America and occurs in the widest range of habitats: West into central

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, east into

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, north to southern

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and then south into the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

to central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. This species of lizard is mostly an arid

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

dweller living in the range of 900–11,300 feet (170–3440 m). It is the only member of its

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, which counts ''Phrynosoma'' as its state reptile. It is also considered an endangered species in Saskatchewan and Alberta.Powell, G. Lawrence, and Russell, Anthony P. (1992)
COSEWIC status report on the Greater Short-horned Lizard ''Phrynosoma hernandesi'' in Canada
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa.

Habitat

The greater short-horned lizard occupies ranges from semiarid plains to high elevations in the mountains. This species is frequently found in a wide range of habitats like

shortgrass prairie The shortgrass prairie is an ecosystem located in the Great Plains of North America. The two most dominant grasses in the shortgrass prairie are blue grama (''Bouteloua gracilis'') and buffalograss ('' Bouteloua dactyloides''), the two less domi ...

sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west. Following is an al ...

deserts, and juniper,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

, or fir

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. The

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

in these

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s can be stony or rocky but usually has fine loose soil or sand present. The greater short-horned lizard is more cold tolerant than other species and is able to reach higher elevations and a greater distribution where the temperature is much cooler.

References

{{Authority control Phrynosoma Reptiles of Mexico Lizards of North America Fauna of the Western United States Reptiles of Canada Reptiles described in 1858