General Description: Northern Desert Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma platyrhinos platyrhinos) are small to medium-sized (3 to 5 in.) lizards with broad, flattened bodies and a row of horns on the back of the head. With a toad-like body form, these lizards are often called “horny toads.”

Taxonomy: Phrynosomatid Lizard Family (Phrynosomatidae).

Technical Description: Body length to almost 4 in.; tail about 1 in. Body flat; edge of sides with one row of small, fringed scales. Head fringed with row of horns. Some dorsal scales sharp-pointed. Throat with one row of slightly enlarged scales on each side. Dorsum blotched with a pattern and color resembling the background; base color beige, tan, or reddish; darker blotches form crescents. Ventral color cream. Snout blunt.

There are two subspecies: northern and southern, which are separated by geography, horn size, and tail shape:

• Northern Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos platyrhinos): In the northern subspecies (Great Basin Desert), the two longest horns are short and set far apart (length usually less than 45% of head length; space between horn bases roughly equal to the width of the horn at the base), and the tip of the tail is more round.

• Southern Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum): In the southern subspecies (Mojave Desert and Sonoran Desert), the two longest horns are long and set close together (horn length usually more than 45% of the head length; space between the bases about half of the width of the horn at the base), and the tip of the tail is more flat.

One major reference discounts the usefulness of horn size, suggesting instead that they should be identified by geography alone.

Diet: These lizards eat ants; occasionally eating other slow-moving insects, beetles, spiders, and some plant material. Often found near anthills where they sit and wait for passing ants.

Habitat: These lizards occur in Sagebrush and greasewood flats in the north (Great Basin). Typically found among woody shrubs, cacti, and yucca on sandy flats, alluvial fans, washes, and dunes below about 6,500 ft. Also found in salt desert scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland habitats.

Range: The species occurs from southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho south to northwestern Mexico. The northern subspecies occurs in Great Basin Desert (south edge of the Nevada Test Site northward).

Breeding: Mate during spring; lay 1 or 2 clutches of 2 to 16 eggs in early summer; hatch in late summer.

Similar Species: Northern Desert Horned Lizards coexist with Short-horned Lizards (Phrynosoma douglassii) in northern-most Nevada. Short-horned Lizards can be identified by their very short horns on the head.

Comments: Although Horned Lizards are gentle, they can hiss, threaten to bite, and puff up with air to look bigger and fiercer. In areas with soft sand, they will shake themselves vigorously, throwing sand over their backs and leaving only their head exposed so they can hide from predators while waiting for passing ants.

Often called “horny toads,” these lizards are favored as pets. However, they often do not survive in captivity because of difficulties in adequately providing their specialized diet of ants.