Short-horned Lizard

(often mislabelled "Horned Toad")

Phrynosoma douglasii

1. 5 toes on all feet, front and back. True toads have 4 toes on the front feet, 5 toes on each back foot.

2. Scaly skin, with a row of stiff pointed scales protruding from all sides.

3. The horns are only large stubby scales arising from the back of the head.

4. Body is flattened, round or oval when viewed from above.

5. There are often about 12 dark blotches in two rows of 6 running down the back.

6. Colors range from tan or yellowish to gray, brown, or almost blackish.

7. Adults may almost be 4 inches long.

8. The young are born live rather than from eggs.

9. They hibernate underground during the colder seasons, and are most active before noon during the warm months.

10. They may burrow into sand to hide from predators (snakes, lizards, or birds) or to escape the heat of mid-day.

Sagebrush plains and juniper or pine woodlands of central and eastern Oregon and Washington.

1. Predator of small ground insects (like ants).

2. Although cute, they rarely survive more than several weeks in captivity.