Mountain short-horned lizard
The Greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) is the most widely distributed lizard in 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 and is considered an endangered species in Saskatchewan and Alberta. The Greater short-horned lizard is also the only member of its genus in Wyoming, which counts Phrynosoma as its state reptile.
The Greater short-horned lizard is a flat-bodied, squat lizard with scales around the top of the head, normally called a "crown". They have a snub-nosed profile and short legs. The trunk is fringed by one row of pointed scales, while the belly scales are smooth. The color is gray, yellowish, or reddish-brown, and there are two rows of large dark spots on the back. When threatened or aggressive, their colors become more intense. Females of this species are larger in size than males.
Greater short-horned lizards occur West into central Nevada, east into North and South Dakota, north to southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, and then south into the Texas Panhandle to central Mexico. These lizards are mostly arid mountain dwellers. They live in a wide range of habitats like shortgrass prairies, sagebrush deserts, and juniper, pine, or fir forests. The soil in these habitats can be stony or rocky but usually has fine loose soil or sand present. Greater short-horned lizards are more cold tolerant than other species and are able to reach higher elevations and a greater distribution where the temperature is much cooler.
Greater short-horned lizards are diurnal creatures being most active during the evening and burrowing at night. They are "sit-and-wait" predators and also rely extensively on camouflage to avoid predators. If provoked, they can build up blood pressure in regions behind their eyes and accurately squirt their blood at attacking predators, which will deter canids from continuing their attack. It is rare for horned lizards to squirt blood at humans however, reserving this unique defense primarily for canids (i.e. foxes, coyotes, dogs), which have a strong reaction of distaste to the blood.
Greater short-horned lizards are carnivores. They mainly eat ants, but also take an occasional grasshopper or beetle.
Greater short-horned lizards breed from May to June. They are viviparous and females give birth to 5-48 live young from July to September. The young measure about 24 mm from snout to vent and weigh about 1 g. They have no horns yet and are able to take care of themselves within a few hours; they are not able to fully crawl until they are a day old. Males become reproductively mature after their first year of life and females generally take 2 years before they can start reproducing.
Greater short-horned lizards don’t face any major threats at present but they suffer from the loss of their native habitat.
According to the IUCN Red List, the Greater short-horned lizard is locally common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
