Phrynosoma orbiculare, the Chihuahua desert horned lizard, occurs on the northern plateau from Chihuahua, Durango, and Nuevo Leon southeast through Morelos, Puebla and Veracruz. P. orbiculare can be distinguished from other horned lizard species by the following: one row of lateral abdominal fringe scales; two short occipital horns; temporal horns extend nearly as far as occipital horns; smooth ventral scales; and very short tail. |
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About the Species
This specimen (LACM 126543) was collected by J. W. Wright in Santa Cruz, near Pico de Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico. It was made available to the University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray CT Facility for scanning by Dr. Wendy Hodges of the Department of Biology, University of California, Riverside. Funding for scanning was provided by a National Science Foundation grant (DBI-0204459) to Dr. Hodges. Funding for image processing was provided by a National Science Foundation Digital Libraries Initiative grant to Dr. Timothy Rowe of the Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin.
About this Specimen
The specimen was scanned by Matthew Colbert on 27 May 2003 along the coronal axis for a total of 648 slices, each slice 0.0313 mm thick with an interslice spacing of 0.0313 mm.
About the Scan
Literature
Frost, D. R., and R. Etheridge. 1989. A phylogenetic analysis and taxonomy of iguanian lizards (Reptilia: Squamata). University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication 81.
Pianka, E. R., and W. S. Parker. 1975. Ecology of horned lizards: A review with special reference to Phrynosoma platyrhinos Copeia 1975:141-162.
Presch, W. 1969. Evolutionary osteology and relationships of the horned lizard genus Phrynosoma (Family Iguanidae) Copeia 1969:250-275.
Reeve, W. L. 1952. Taxonomy and distribution of the horned lizard genus Phrynosoma. University of Kansas Science Bulletin 34:817-960.
Smith, H. M. 1946. Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Comstock Publishing Co., Ithaca, New York.
Links
More on horned lizards from Eric Pianka and Wendy Hodges
The Horned Lizard Conservation Society
Literature & Links
None available.
Additional Imagery
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