THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Phrynosomatidae  

Chihuahuan Short-horned Lizard
Phrynosoma ornatissimum Girard, 1858
FRY-noh-SOH-mah — or-nuh-TISS-ih-mum

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Montanucci (2015, Zootaxa 4015: 1–177) proposed, based on morphological data, that populations of short-horned lizards from the arid short-grass plains of central and southern New Mexico represent a separate species from P. hernandesi, and that hypothesis was corroborated by the results of Leaché et al. (2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9: 678110) based on principal component and phylogenetic analyses of RADseq nDNA data. (de Queiroz, Kevin and Lauren M. Chan. 2025. Squamata (excluding snakes) – Lizards. Pages 23-37 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.07.17.16.02.44)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.32 MB

Province/State Distribution:

Taxonomic Etymology:
Named for its exceptionally ornate appearance.
Phrynosoma — From Greek phrynos (φρῦνος), meaning “toad,” and soma (σῶμα), meaning “body,” referring to its broad, flattened, toad-like form.
ornatissimum — Superlative form of Latin ornatus (ornate), meaning “most ornate,” describing the elaborate spines and coloration.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1858 Girard, Charles F. United States Exploring Expedition during the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, Under the command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N. Vol. 20. Herpetology. C. Sherman & Son, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 492pp.
1890 Stejneger, Leonhard H. Part V. - Annotated list of reptiles and batrachians collected by Dr. C. Hart Merriam and Vernon Bailey on the San Francisco Mountain Plateau and Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona, with descriptions of new species. North American Fauna 3(3):103-118
1890 Merriam, C. Hart. Part I. - General results of a biological survey of the San Francisco Mountain Region in Arizona, with special reference to the distribution of species. North American Fauna 3(3):5-34
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
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
2015 Montanucci, Richard R. A taxonomic revision of the Phrynosoma douglasii species complex (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). Zootaxa 4015(1):1-177

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Friday 05 December 2025 19:48 CT