Roundtail Horned Lizard
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| Roundtail Horned Lizard | ||||||||||||||
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| Phrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852 |
The Roundtail Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) is the smallest 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 and eastern Arizona, and three states in Mexico where they are referred to as "tapayaxtin".
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[edit] Habitat
Round tailed Horned Lizards prefer a sandy, semi-arid habitat with sparse vegetation, near harvester ant or especially honeypot ant colonies, which is their primary diet.
[edit] Description
The color of Roundtail Horned Lizards usually reflects the color of the soil in their native habitat. Most are uniformly grey in color, but they can also be light brown, or even a pale yellow. Often there are darker colored regions around the neck and groin region, and sometimes striping on the tail.
They are short, flat, round bodied lizards with short limbs, and a small head which has a distinctive crest of nearly equal length horns.
[edit] Reproduction
Roundtail horned lizards are oviparous, breeding and laying eggs in early summer.
[edit] References
- Sherbrooke, W. C. 2003. Introduction to horned lizards of North America. University of California Press.
- Herps of Texas: Phrynosoma modestum
- Desert USA: Horned Lizards
