Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard

Fascinating facts about the Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard

• Five subspecies of the Mexican Plateau horned lizard have been formally recognized, each bearing a distinct scientific name and authority. The nominotypical subspecies is Phrynosoma orbiculare orbiculare (Linnaeus, 1758), while Phrynosoma orbiculare bradti and Phrynosoma orbiculare orientale were both described by Horowitz in 1955. Two older names, Phrynosoma orbiculare cortezii and Phrynosoma orbiculare dugesii, trace back to Duméril & Bocourt in 1870.
• Endemic to Mexico's high plateau, this horned lizard inhabits six states: Chihuahua, Durango, Morelos, Nuevo León, Puebla, and Veracruz. Its presence across a mosaic of dry scrubland, pine-oak, oak, and juniper forests, as well as human-altered fields of agave and Opuntia.
• The lizard's name itself tells a story: the species epithet "orbiculare" comes from the Latin "orbis," meaning "circular," while the subspecific name "cortezii dugesii" commemorates Alfredo Dugès, the father of Mexican herpetology.
• A single row of lateral abdominal fringe scales distinguishes this species, accompanied by two short occipital horns on its head.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard photographed on Feravox

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