Little Horned Lizard

Phrynosoma modestum, (Girard)

Colouration: Pale, yellowish, or pinkish. A large black patch on each side of the nape--but this is sometimes indistinct. There are practically no cross-bars on the back, although the tail is usually banded. The abdomen is yellowish-white and, with the exception of the region of the vent, is immaculate; there are frequently several small patches of black both in front and behind the vent.
Dimensions: Total Length . . . . . 3 3/4 inches.
Distribution: Western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona; the states of Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico.

Appeals to Ditmars's Horned Lizard in the absence of the marginal, spiny scales, at the edge of the abdomen. It is a comparatively smooth species, and the head spines are small. Thus it lacks the spiny, bristling appearance of the larger species. Like the preceding, the ear drum is exposed or but partially covered with granular scales, a character which removes it from all of the succeeding horned lizards. The scales of the abdomen are smooth and there are no enlarged rows of scales in the central portion of the chin.

Length of Head, including Horns . . . . . 11/16 inches.

Width of head, including Temporal Horns . . . . . 13/16 inches.