Lizards, lizards, lizards. I love lizards. I’m not sure which came first: my nickname – Lizzy the Lizard – or my love for reptiles. I like snakes and amphibians too, but lizards make me especially happy.
- First Horned Lizard, Spruce Mountain, Central Arizona
So imagine my joy last weekend when my son spotted what I’ve tentatively identified as a Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) on a hike up Spruce Mountain near Prescott, Arizona. He said he first heard the rustling in the leaves and then saw movement. I would have walked past it. Only about two inches long, it blended in with the dry leaves and soil. We spotted a slightly larger one on the way back down the mountain.
Horned lizards try to avoid predators by keeping still. This made it easy to snap an embarrassing abundance of photos (one can never have too many lizard photos, right?). It also makes the horned lizard easy to catch. As a child, I would have begged my mother to let me take it home, but now I believe it’s best to leave them wild.
I can’t remember ever seeing a horned lizard before, although some species can be found in my home stomping grounds of Oregon and Washington. So seeing two in one hike during a short trip to Arizona inspired the kind of thrill that this month leads me to write poems: one last week and another, riffing on a similar theme, this week.
- Second Horned Lizard, Spruce Mountain, Central Arizona
Because I’ve wanted to see horned lizards for so long, I thought I knew them, but these facts were new:
- Most prefer to eat ants, and some are picky about which kinds of ants. In habitats where those ants are disappearing, horned lizards are vanishing too.
- There are diverse species spread throughout the American Southwest and some that range up into southern Alberta.
- Rather than laying eggs, high-altitude species give birth to live young to ensure survival in extreme temperatures.
- Some species squirt blood from their eyes to frighten enemies ( I probably did read about this before but had forgotten it).
- Some, such as the Texas Horned Lizard, are becoming more scarce, partly because of over-collection and partly because of disappearing habitat and food sources. The Texas Horned Lizard Watch provides a way for state residents to participate in efforts to monitor and protect the animal.
Eric R. Pianka and Wendy L. Hodges provide great comparative information for identifying various species of horned lizards.
For more information on efforts to protect this wonderful creatire, visit the Horned Lizard Conservation Society
If you think the lizards in the photos above are not P. hernandesi, please let me know what they could be.
What fun, finding a lizard on the trail!
Hi again Liz,
Not sure if you saw the horned lizard pic on my site.
In all the years I have been out there it was the first one I have seen.
I think mostly because I have not been looking.
It took a hike with my sister to find this one and yes she is the one that spotted it.
Hi Liz,
Thought you would like to see a picture we took of another Flat-tailed horned lizard.
We spotted him on the Pacific Crest trail near Combs Peak
http://anzaborrego.net/travel/AnzaBorrego/photoalbums/PictureDetail.aspx?frmPicURLSource=http://lh4.ggpht.com/_7eyzhTSlDgc/ShwT4REGxOI/AAAAAAAADpY/K5MfJq52oUo/s800/IMG_4492.JPG&frmTitle=Reddish+Flat-Tail+Horned+Lizard.+He+blended+in+really+well.
Best,
Bob
Hi Bob – Thanks for the link. I’ll check it out.
The horned lizard’s mottled camouflage is its first line of defense, while the large “crown of thorns” on its head make it a tricky meal for most predators.
Kevin – Thanks for the additional information. They’re fascinating creatures, aren’t they?
The horned toads( a reptile-lizard0 have always been some of my favorites over my 60 some years watching and caring for wild critters.Had two for pets for several years when I lived on the farm 50+ years ago as a boy.We caught and kept and learned about every critter that was around..including snakes..:)
The species you spotted near Prescott is a smaller higher elevation horned lizard.
Unlike some of the other larger species that live in hotter desert valleys, it bears it’s young alive rather than laying eggs so it can regulate the temp during incubation easier than if they were buried in the sand.
Virtually all horned toads have ants as their primary staple-diet and won’t survive long in captivity on other bugs, tho they will eat them.Something about the amino acids in ants that is necessary for a lizard who doesn’t compete for food with much of anything else on this continent( no anteaters)
They need a temperature range of between about 27 to 40.5 degrees C to survive.
Temps of just a degree over the max will be fatal if they cannot get cool.
They ‘thermoregulate’ ( maintain-control body temperature0 better than most reptiles by seeking shade, seeking sun, burying( or hibernating in winter) in soft easy-to-dig sandy soil, or ducking into a rodent burrow or cleft in the rocks.
So IF you wish to see them, look for ant trails, and mounds or other evidence of ants like the desert harvester ant.Sit and watch..and watch..Be there when the sun starts warming the earth early AM in good habitat.
IF the temp is right( usually daybreak to mid-day in summer) they will be found near their food.They are slow( comparatively) but can run if they want for short distances and cover.
Like most things in the wild, one needs to slow waaaay down and look to find them..they won’t be seen running like many lizards..Their camoflage is about as perfect as one will find in the animal kingdom.
Ancient NA folks considered them good critters that brought health and happiness.
I have that same feeling when I find them in the wild, doing their small part in this big oircle of life.
We have a few here in Oregon, but they are the small P. Douglassii species and found in eastern Oregon in the snady piney-juniper areas.
IF one really likes the horned toads and wants one very similar lizard for a good pet, the Australian Bearded Lizard is about as close as one will find in the pet stores.They grow to about 14-15″ in length, are pretty docile, and look very much like a giant horny toad.Have the same spikey head, flattened body and short legs.They thrive on about all bugs as well as eating vegetables…so caring for them is simpler in that regard than the American horned lizards.
Before one buys one tho, read up on them well and be prepared to properly provide their habitat, food and care.
The natural world sure is wonderful..but one has to take time to see and understand it..Regards, Jim in Oregon
Thanks for the detailed information, Jim. I’ve heard we have them in Eastern Oregon and hope to see one some day. They’re one of my favorites too.