Texas horned lizard

Phrynosoma cornutum

SUBFAMILY

Phrynosomatinae

TAXONOMY

Phrynosoma cornutum Harlan, 1825, Great Plains, east of the Rocky Mountains. No subspecies are recognized.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Horned toad, horny toad, San Diego horned lizard, California horned lizard; French: Lézard crapaud ou cornu; German: Texas-Krötenechse; Spanish: Torito de la Virgen.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Texas horned lizards are squat and spiny, with a short tail and two large occipital "horns" on the head. They also have a large blotch on either side of the neck, and large, dark spots on the back. The general body color is brown, sometimes with a yellowish or reddish tint, but color varies with external temperature. Adults are typically about 3 in long (7.6 cm), but some may reach 5 in (12.7 cm).

DISTRIBUTION

Texas horned lizards occur in the west-central United States, and in northern Mexico.

HABITAT

These lizards are found nearly anywhere throughout their range where it is dry, flat, and sparsely vegetated.

BEHAVIOR

Texas horned lizards are diurnal. They peculiarly squirt blood from their eyes. This behavior may be observed while the lizard is shedding, or when it is seriously threatened. Other defensive tactics include hissing, inflating the body, and erecting the horns at an attacker.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Ants are the primary component of the diet of the Texas horned lizard, although the lizards will also eat other arthropods. They drink by gathering raindrops on their back, then channeling the drops through their scales and into the mouth.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Texas horned lizards mate in spring, and females lay an unusually large number of eggs (two to three dozen) which they bury about 6 in (15.2 cm) deep. The young typically hatch in July and early August.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN, but the species has disappeared from about one-half of its historical range. Their disappearance coincides with a loss of habitat, as well as a proliferation of fire ants. Fire ants have displaced harvester ants, a mainstay of the lizard's diet.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

An unusual and well-known reptile, it is the state reptile of Texas.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: of arid and semiarid open country
  Synonym: Phrynosoma cornutum

Texas horned lizard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Squamata Suborder: Sauria Family: Phrynosomatidae Genus: Phrynosoma Species: P. cornutum
Binomial name
Phrynosoma cornutum (Harlan, 1825)

The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is one of 14 North American species of spikey-bodied reptiles called horned lizards. The Texas species ranges from Colorado and Kansas to northern Mexico, and from southeastern Arizona to Louisiana and Arkansas. Texas is the heart of its range. [1] There are also isolated, introduced populations in the Carolinas, Georgia, and northern Florida. [2]

The horned lizard is popularly called a "horned toad," "horny toad", or "horned frog," but it is neither a toad nor a frog. The popular names come from the lizard's rounded body and blunt snout, which give it a decidedly toad-like or frog-like appearance. (Phrynosoma literally means "toad-bodied." Cornutum means "horned.") The lizard's horns are extensions of its cranium and are composed of true bone.

The Texas horned lizard is the largest-bodied and most widely distributed of 8 species in the United States. It grows to a maximum length of 4-6 inches. Although its coloration generally serves as camouflage against predation, when threatened by a predator, a horned lizard puffs up its body to cause its spiny scales to protrude, making it difficult to swallow. The Texas horned lizard, along with at least three other species, also has the ability to squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of the eyes for a distance of up to 5 feet. This not only confuses would-be predators, the blood is mixed with a chemical that is foul-tasting to canidae predators such as wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs.

About 70% of the Texas horned lizard's diet is made up of harvester ants, though they supplement these with termites, beetles, and grasshoppers. In recent years, the Texas horned lizard has declined in about 30% of its range, though there is some indication it may be making a comeback. The decline is usually blamed on overuse of pesticides and the spread of non-native, but highly aggressive and fiercely territorial, Brazilian fire ants. Both eradicate harvester ant colonies, destroying the horned lizard's principal source of food. The Texas horned lizard is now a protected species and it is illegal to take, possess, transport or sell them without a special permit.

Some Native American peoples regarded horned lizards as sacred. The animal is a common motif in the art of many Native Americans in the Southwestern U.S. and in Mexico.

The horned lizard is the state reptile of Texas and, as the "horned frog", is the mascot of Texas Christian University (TCU).

External links

• Horned Lizard from the Handbook of Texas Online
• TCU page on their mascot

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