Giant horned lizard

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Giant horned lizard
Phrynosoma asio.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Phrynosomatidae
Genus: Phrynosoma
Species:
P. asio
Binomial name
Phrynosoma asio
Cope, 1864 [2]

The giant horned lizard (Phrynosoma asio) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard which is endemic to the Pacific coast of southern Mexico. It is the largest horned lizard and is also the most slender (it has a typical lizard-like appearance). It is able to survive in the desert. The spines on its back and sides are made from modified scales, whereas the horns on its head are true horns (i.e., they have a bony core).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horned lizard</span> Genus of reptiles

Phrynosoma, whose members are known as the horned lizards, horny toads or horntoads, is a genus of North American lizards and the type genus of the family Phrynosomatidae. The common names refer directly to their horns or to their flattened, rounded bodies, and blunt snouts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater short-horned lizard</span> Species of reptile

The Greater Short-Horned Lizard, also commonly known as the Mountain Short-Horned Lizard, is a species of lizard endemic to western North America. Like other horned lizards, it is often called a "horned toad" or "horny toad", but it is not a toad at all. It is a reptile, not an amphibian. It is one of seven native species of lizards in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorny devil</span> Species of lizard

The thorny devil, also known commonly as the mountain devil, thorny lizard, thorny dragon, and moloch, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to Australia. It is the sole species in the genus Moloch. It grows up to 21 cm (8.3 in) in total length, with females generally larger than males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Texas horned lizard is one of about 14 North American species of spikey-bodied reptiles called horned lizards, all belonging the genus Phrynosoma. It occurs in south-central regions of the US and northeastern Mexico, as well as several isolated introduced records and populations from Southern United States. Though some populations are stable, severe population declines have occurred in many areas of Texas and Oklahoma. The Texas spiny lizard may be confused for a Texas horned lizard due to its appearance and overlapping habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The desert horned lizard is a species of phrynosomatid lizard native to western North America. They are often referred to as "horny toads", although they are not toads, but lizards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-tailed horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The short-tailed horned lizard is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is endemic to Mexico. It has a very distinct, shortened tail, which is sometimes not apparent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The coast horned lizard is a species of phrynosomatid lizard endemic to Baja California Sur in Mexico. As a defense the lizard can shoot high pressure streams of blood out of its eyes if threatened.

The rock horned lizard, also known commonly as Ditmars' horned lizard and camaleón de roca in Mexican Spanish, is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is endemic to the Mexican state of Sonora, in northern Mexico, south of the Arizona border. Bearing the shortest horns of all the horned lizards, it lives in thorn-scrub and deciduous Sinaloan woodlands. The rock horned lizard was "lost" to science for about 65 years. It has a unique habitat preference and limited distribution. It also had a very imprecise holotype locality record which made it difficult to locate. An extraordinary effort by Vincent Roth based on a cross-correlational analysis of gut contents from only three specimens led to its rediscovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flat-tail horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The flat-tail horned lizard is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. A species of reptile, it is endemic to the Sonoran desert of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its multiple adaptations for camouflage help to minimize its shadow. The species is threatened, with a restricted range under pressure from human activities such as agriculture and development, and is specially protected in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roundtail horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The roundtail horned lizard 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 where they are referred to as "tapayaxtin".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Plateau horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Mexican Plateau horned lizard is a species of horned lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species, also known commonly as the Chihuahua Desert horned lizard, is endemic to Mexico. There are five recognized subspecies. The specific epithet, orbiculare, comes from the Latin adjective orbis, meaning "circular".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Mexican horned lizard is a horned lizard species native to Mexico. Horned lizards are sometimes referred to as "horned toads" or "horny toads", although they are not toads. Compared to other members of the horned lizards, little is known about this species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regal horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The regal horned lizard is a horned lizard species native to Mexico and the Southwest United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pygmy short-horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The pygmy short-horned lizard is a species of small horned lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the northwestern United States and adjacent southwestern Canada. Like other horned lizards, it is often called a "horned toad" or "horny toad," but it is not a toad at all. It is a reptile, not an amphibian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego horned lizard</span> Species of phrynosomatid lizard

The San Diego horned lizard or Blainville's horned lizard is a species of phrynosomatid lizard native to southern and central California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico.

Baur's short-horned lizard is a species of small horned lizard that is endemic to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedros Island horned lizard</span> Species of lizard

The Cedros Island horned lizard is a horned lizard species native to Cedros Island in Mexico.

The Sonoran horned lizard is a horned lizard species native to Arizona in the United States and Mexico.

References

  1. Luis Canseco-Marquez, Antonio Muñoz, André García, Paulino Ponce. (2013). Phrynosoma asio. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T198393A2524363.en
  2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.