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Texas Horned Lizard
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- Order: Squamata (scaled reptiles)
- Suborder: Lacertilia (=Sauria) (lizards)
- Family: Iguanidae (iguanid lizards)
- Subfamily: Phrynosomatinae (spiny and horned
lizards)
- Genus: Phrynosoma (horned lizards)
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| Also known as:
"horny toad" |
Scientific Name: Phrynosoma
cornutum (Harlan, 1825) |
| Habitat: Dry open
areas with loose soil. |
Phrynos="toad," soma="body,"
cornutum="horned"
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| Length: To over 7 inches. |
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| Food: Almost
exclusively ants. |
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I found this male in June of 1996 near Cotulla,
Texas. Horned lizards are becoming uncommon in the wild, partly
because of collection and partly because of fire ants. It
used to be common for people to take home a "horny toad"
as a souvenir of their visit to Texas, but the lizards do not do
well in captivity due to their diet of almost exclusively ants.
While ants comprise most of their diet, only certain species of
ants are consumed, and preferences vary among the different horned
lizard species. |
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| The following two pics are of a
young lizard I found in June of 2003 east of Bracketville, Texas.
The introduced fire ant Solenopsis invicta has spread
throughout much of the southern United States, and is not eaten by
horned lizards. In addition to displacing the lizards'
preferred ants, the fire ants have also been known to eat the eggs
of many types of lizard, which contributes to the decline of many
native species.
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| An interesting characteristic of
horned lizards is their ability to squirt blood from the corners
of their eyes when threatened. I've only had that happen once! |
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