San Diego horned lizard

The San Diego horned lizard or Blainville's horned lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard native to southern and central California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico.[3]

San Diego horned lizard
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Phrynosomatidae
Genus: Phrynosoma
Species:
P. blainvillii
Binomial name
Phrynosoma blainvillii
Gray, 1839
Synonyms

Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillii

Taxonomy

Described as a distinct species by John Edward Gray in 1839 (being named after Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville), it was later reclassified as a subspecies of the coast horned lizard (P. coronatum) in 1933. However, studies by Adam Leaché in 2006 and 2009 found sufficient genetic evidence to again classify P. blainvillii as a distinct species. In 2021, Gunther Köhler again reclassified blainvillii as a subspecies of P. coronatum, although the Reptile Database has not followed this.[3][4]

Distribution

This species ranges from the Central Valley of California south through southern California to northern Baja California.[3]

Description

The lizards’ horns are used for defense to prevent snakes from being able to swallow the lizard. It primarily eats ants, especially harvester ants.[5]

Reproduction

In Southern California, the San Diego horned lizard's reproductive period ranges from early March to June.[6]

Threats

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

References
  1. "Phrynosoma blainvillii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. "Phrynosoma blainvillii". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  4. Leaché, Adam D.; Koo, Michelle S.; Spencer, Carol L.; Papenfuss, Theodore J.; Fisher, Robert N.; McGuire, Jimmy A. (2009-07-28). "Quantifying ecological, morphological, and genetic variation to delimit species in the coast horned lizard species complex (Phrynosoma)". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (30): 12418–12423. doi:10.1073/pnas.0906380106. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 19625623.
  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.
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