Coast horned lizard

The coast horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard which can be found in Baja California Sur. The old classification included all three current species P. blainvillii, P. cerroense, and P. coronatum as a single species (P. coronatum) ranging from Baja California north to California's Sacramento Valley. It was previously considered to be a widely divergent species with over 6 subspecies in their relatively small range but is now classified as three distinct species. As a defense the lizard can shoot high pressure streams of blood out of its eyes if threatened.[3] Furthermore, the lizards’ horns are used for defense as it prevents snakes from being able to swallow the lizard.[4] The Coast Horned Lizard primarily eats ants, especially harvester ants.[5]

Coast horned lizard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Phrynosomatidae
Genus: Phrynosoma
Species:
P. coronatum
Binomial name
Phrynosoma coronatum

Description

The coast horned lizard appears rough and spiky but is actually smooth-skinned, although it has sharp spikes along its sides, back and head. It is a large species, and can reach 10 cm (4 inches) excluding the tail. It is less rounded than other horned lizards. It has two large dark blotches behind its head, followed by three broad bands on its body, with several smaller bands along the tail. Its colour can be various shades of brown, with cream 'accents' around the blotches and the outer fringe of its scales.

Reproduction

The coast horned lizard is no longer present in many sections of Southern California due to urbanization, and other types of habitat loss. [6]

In Southern California, the coast horned lizard’s reproductive period ranges from early March to June.[7]

Status

Bayard H. Brattstrom of California State University, Fullerton’s Department of Biology claims that there are no subspecies of the Coast Horned Lizard. Studying specimens from the San Diego Natural History Museum, he could not match a given lizard to a particular claimed subspecies — for example, Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillii or Phrynosoma coronatum frontale — based on characteristics the subspecies were said to have, such as size of frontal scales. Instead, the classification of the assumed subspecies seemed to be based on the site at which it was collected. Thus, Brattstrom concluded that the species has much variation but no valid subspecies.[8]

Variations

There are four different variations of Coast Horned Lizards that share several similarities but vary in morphological characters. However, another variation, Phrynosoma wigginsi, cannot be categorized into the four other variations. This species lives in the eastern side of the Sierra de Guadalupe and Sierra de La Giganta in the central Gulf Coast region of the peninsula of Baja California. [9]

Coast Horned Lizard

References
  1. Hollingsworth, B. & Hammerson, G.A. (2007). Phrynosoma coronatum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64073A12741647.en
  2. The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  3. Hylton, Brodie "Ecology and Species Comparisons of the Short-Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma douglassi) and the Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)". Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  4. "COAST HORNED LIZARD #SEAWEDNESDAY – Significant Ecological Areas Program". Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  5. "COAST HORNED LIZARD #SEAWEDNESDAY – Significant Ecological Areas Program". Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  6. Goldberg, Stephen R. (1983). "Reproduction of the Coast Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma coronatum, in Southern California". The Southwestern Naturalist. 28 (4): 478–479. doi:10.2307/3670838. ISSN 0038-4909.
  7. Goldberg, Stephen R. (1983). "Reproduction of the Coast Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma coronatum, in Southern California". The Southwestern Naturalist. 28 (4): 478–479. doi:10.2307/3670838. ISSN 0038-4909.
  8. Brattstrom, Bayard H. (1997). "Status of the Subspecies of the Coast Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma coronatum". Journal of Herpetology. 31 (3): 434–436. doi:10.2307/1565675. ISSN 0022-1511.
  9. Montanucci, Richard R. (2004). "Geographic Variation in Phrynosoma coronatum (Lacertilia, Phrynosomatidae): Further Evidence for a Peninsular Archipelago". Herpetologica. 60 (1): 117–139. ISSN 0018-0831.


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