Texas horned lizard
From Freepedia
| Texas horned lizard | ||||||||||||||||
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| Phrynosoma cornutum (Harlan, 1825) |
The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is a small lizard that occurs in North America. Like other horned lizards, it is often wrongly called the "Horned Toad" or "Horny Toad", but it is not a toad at all.
The primary food for Texas horned lizards is ants. In recent years, numbers of Texas horned lizards have been declining, which is partly blamed on the invasion of fire ants. With the introduction of invasive fire ants and the subsequent control of ants through pesticides the food supply (native harvester ants) has been diminished.
Texas horned lizards can eject blood through their eyes as an antipredator response.
Some Native Americans consider these lizards sacred.
Range and habitat
The lizard ranges from Kansas southward through Oklahoma, Texas, and the eastern half of New Mexico and into northeastern Mexico. They have also been introduced into North Carolina.
External links
- Horned lizard (focusing on the Texas horned lizard) in the Handbook of Texas Online
- TCU page on their mascot
