Roundtail Horned Lizard
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Roundtail Horned Lizard
| roundtail horned lizard | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Lacertilia |
| Family: | Phrynosomatidae |
| Genus: | Phrynosoma |
| Species: | P. modestum |
| Binomial name | |
| Phrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852 |
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The roundtail horned lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) is one of the smaller species of horned lizard. Their specific epithet is from the Latin word modestum meaning modest or calm. They are found in the United States, in western Texas, New Mexico eastern Arizona, southeastern Colorado and eight states in northcentral Mexico[1] where they are referred to as "tapayaxtin".
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Contents
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Habitat
Roundtail horned lizards prefer a sandy, semiarid habitat with sparse vegetation, near harvester ant or especially honeypot ant colonies, which is their primary diet.
Description
The color of roundtail horned lizards usually reflects the color of the soil in their native habitat. Most are uniformly grey in color, but they can also be light brown, or even a pale yellow. Often there are darker-colored regions around the neck and groin, and sometimes striping on the tail.
They are short, flat, round-bodied lizards with short limbs, and a small head which has a distinctive crest of nearly equal length horns. Unlike other Horned Lizards, they lack a fringe of lateral scales and do not seek to flatten themselves to the ground to eliminate shadow; instead, they hunch their bodies into the shape of a rock for camouflage, boldly casting a shadow.[2]
Maximum size is 7 cm (2¾ inches) snout to vent length (SVL), 10.5 cm (4⅛ inches) total length.[3]
Reproduction
Roundtail horned lizards are oviparous, breeding and laying eggs in early summer.
Bibliography
- Hammerson, Geoffrey A. Amphibians and Reptiles in Colorado. 2nd edition.
- Sherbrooke, W. C. 2003. Introduction to horned lizards of North America. University of California Press.
References
- ^ The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
- ^ Sherbrooke, 2003. Page 118
- ^ Smith, H.M. and E.D. Brodie, Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America, A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. pp. 126-127.
External links
External links
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