Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare)

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The Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard

The Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma orbiculare) is sometimes mistakenly called “horned toad” because of their rounded appearance. These lizards are revered by some cultures as totems of strength, and they are sung about during some healing rituals. Their numbers are in decline, however, because of capture for trade and the pet industry and because of clearing of their native habitat.

Mexican Plateau Horned Lizards are only found in Mexico, from Chihuahua to Velacruz. They are most often found in pine and oak forests with open grasslands. They are often found in areas with sand, rock formations, and bunches of grasses that are used for camouflage. They are solitary animals and are most often seen during the peak heat of the day, usually between noon and 3 p.m.

True to their name, the Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard is covered in little spines, or horns. These run in a row down the entire length of the lizard. The head is flattened and has two sharp, very solid horns. The rest of the body is covered with very rough scales, except for the underbelly, which is also covered with scales but these are smooth. The color can vary, but they are usually a dark shade of brown with black spots and stripes. The underbelly scales are white. This is a medium-sized lizard, averaging 3-3.5 inches (8-9 cm) long with a tail about 1.75 inches (4.5 cm) long. Their bodies are flat and rounded, and they are able to make the most use out of their heavy scales and fringed spikes by puffing up with air and making themselves look much bigger than they really are.

Mexican Plateau Horned Lizards have several adaptations that they use for defense. The first is their coloring, which blends in very well with the surrounding environment. The spiky armor looks fierce and tends to put off predators, but it also serves another purpose in that it decreases the amount of shadow that the lizard puts off, which helps it hide from flying predators. The horns on their heads are also very sharp and strong, and they are able to use them as weapons. The final and most unique defense characteristic is the ability to squirt blood out of their eyes. Apparently the blood is very foul-tasting to larger predators, such as foxes, and the animal will often drop the lizard once they’ve gotten a taste of it to try to get rid of the blood.

Interesting Fact: These lizards are called torito de la Virgen by the native people of Mexico. This translates to “the Virgin’s little bull”, which is given to them because of their spines and because they have the ability to shoot blood from their eyes, or cry tears of blood.

The primary food for the Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard is ants. They don’t move quickly, so they tend to sit and wait for an unsuspecting insect to pass their way. Depending on availability, these lizards will also eat other sorts of insects, but the way their mouths are laid out makes them dependent on small insects.

Some horned lizards lay eggs, but the Mexican Plateau Horned Lizard gives birth to live animals. The amounts of lizards born from a single pregnancy are extreme, sometimes bearing over 20 lizards at one time! Baby lizards must be able to survive on their own soon after birth, and they are not cared for and are able to hunt on their own after only minutes. Lizards may breed twice a year, and the amount of offspring depends directly on the amount of food available.

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Bibliography:
Horned Lizard. Encarta Encyclopedia, © 2000.
Phrynosoma orbiculare. Accessed 08/21/04 at http://www.vivanatura.org/Phrynosoma%20orbiculare.html.
Horned Lizards. Accessed 08/21/04 at http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/phryno.html.
ADW: Phrynosoma douglassii. Accessed 08/21/04 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Phrynosoma_douglassii.html.