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Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Phrynosomatidae  

Coast Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma blainvillii Gray, 1839

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Leaché et al. (2017, Molecular Ecology 27: 2884–2895) noted that the populations within P. blainvillii corresponding to three mtDNA clades from their earlier study (Leaché et al., 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106: 12418–12423) exhibit narrow geographic zones of admixture and were supported as species in some of their analyses (see also Yang and Rannala, 2014, Molecular Biology and Evolution 31: 3125–3135). Köhler (2021, Taxonomy 1: 83–115) recognized the two sets of populations corresponding to the earliest mtDNA divergence as subspecies, although he treated them as subspecies of P. coronatum (a name restricted to the populations from southern Baja California by Leaché et al., op. cit.). Because we are following Leaché et al. (op. cit.) in recognizing P. blainvillii and P. coronatum as separate species, we have treated the subspecies recognized and resurrected by Köhler (op. cit.) as a subspecies of P. blainvillii. The standard English name for the species has been returned to a commonly used, more biologically informative, and non-eponymous name.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.10.08.04.19)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.1 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: California

First instance(s) of published English names:
California Horned Toad (Tapaya coronata: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Blainville's Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillei: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Blainville's Horned Toad (Phrynosoma blainvillii: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); California Horned Toad (Phrynosoma frontale: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Blainville's Horned Toad (Phrynosoma blainvillii blainvillii: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); California Horned Toad (Phrynosoma blainvillii frontale: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Crowned Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); San Diego Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillei: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); California Horned Toad (Phrynosoma coronatum frontale: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1839 Gray, John E. Reptiles. Pages 180 in Pp. 93-97. In: J. Richardson et al., The Zoology of Captain Beechey`s Voyage. H.G. Bohn, London, England. pp.
1839 Richardson, M. D., N. A. Vigors, E. T. Bennett, Richard Owen, John E. Gray, W. Buckland, and G. B. Sowerby. The Zoology of Captain Beechey`s Voyage. Henry G. Bohn, London, England. 180pp.
1936 Klauber, Laurence M. The horned toads of the Coronatum group. Copeia 1936(2):103-110
1963 Lynn, R. T. Comparative behavior of the horned lizards, genus Phrynosoma, of the United States. Dissertation. University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. 76pp.
1965 Lynn, R. T. A comparative study of the display behavior in Phrynosoma (Iguanidae). Southwestern Naturalist 10(1):25-30
1987 Montanucci, Richard R. A phylogenetic study of the horned lizards, genus Phrynosoma, based on skeletal and external morphology. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Contributions in Science (390):1-36
1988 Jennings, Mark R. Phrynosoma coronatum Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (428):1-5
1993 Wiens, John J. Phylogenetic relationships of phrynosomatid lizards and monophyly of the Sceloporus group. Copeia 1993(2):287-299
1996 Montanucci, Richard R. Morphological variation in the gular fold in the horned lizard genus Phrynosoma (Iguania: Phrynosomatidae). Herpetologica 52(1):46-55
2001 Reeder, Tod W., and Richard R. Montanucci. Phylogenetic analysis of the horned lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma): Evidence from mitochondrial DNA and morphology. Copeia 2001(2):309-323
2004 Hodges, Wendy L. Evolution of viviparity in horned lizards (Phrynosoma): Testing the cold-climate hypothesis. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 17:1230–1237
2009 Leaché, Adam D., Michelle S. Koo, Carol L. Spencer, Theodore J. Papenfuss, Robert N. Fisher, and Jimmy A. McGuire. Quantifying ecological, morphological, and genetic variation to delimit species in the coast horned lizard species complex (Phrynosoma). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106(30):12418–12423
2014 Yang, Zhen and Bruce Rannala. Unguided species delimitation using DNA sequence data from multiple loci. Molecular Biology and Evolution 31(12):3125–3135
2018 Leaché, Adam D., M. T. McElroy, and A Trinh. A genomic evaluation of taxonomic trends through time in coast horned lizards (genus Phrynosoma). Molecular Ecology 27:2884–2895
2021 Kohler, Gunther. Taxonomy of Horned Lizards, genus Phrynosoma (Squamata, Phrynosomatidae). Taxonomy 2021(1):83–115

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Sunday 27 April 2025 10:45 CT