For the past century, scientists have grappled over how to count and classify the various species of horned lizards in California. The proposed number of species varied widely—from 1 to 6 —and more often than not relied solely on the physical characteristics (morphology) of the lizards.
Now, a team of experts from the University of California, Berkeley have proposed a more robust method of identifying the various horned lizard species. This new approach takes into consideration more than the lizards' morphology, it also considers information about the lizards' genetics, anatomy, and ecology. Using this diverse assortment of data, the UC Berkeley scientists determined that there are at least three species of horned lizards in the region:
- Phrynosoma coronatum (coast horned lizard)
- Phrynosoma cerroense
- Phrynosoma blainvillii
Photo © Jimmy McGuire / UC Berkeley.
Comments
Horned toads in Oklahoma and Texas are few and far behind. The last one I saw was in Oklahoma in 2004. Years ago I was lucky enough to catch a male and female and we ended up with 10 babies. 10 didn’t come in one cycle..we were thrilled. They thrived in my courtyard and bit by bit I released them back into the pasture where I found the mom and dad.
I am very concerned that certain species are slowly disappearing. I don’t anticipate my grandchildren ever seeing a horned toad.
We live on the southwestern part of the Mojave. These last two weeks we’ve seen many very small, just born, Southern Desert Horned Lizards.