Holbrookia
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Holbrookia is a genus of earless lizards, known commonly as the lesser earless lizards, in the family Phrynosomatidae. The genus contains six recognized species, which are found throughout the Southwestern and Central United States and northern Mexico. They are characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent soil from entering their bodies when they are digging.
Etymology
The generic name, Holbrookia, is in honor of American zoologist John Edwards Holbrook.[1][2]
Description
Lesser earless lizards grow to about 2.0–2.5 in (50–65 mm) snout-to-vent length (SVL), plus a tail of 3–4 in (75–100 mm). They are typically grey or tan in color, with black blotching. The males usually have blue patches on either side of their bellies, whereas the females do not. Females often change to have bright orange patches when gravid.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Behavior
Holbrookia species are diurnal, basking lizards. They spend the vast majority of their time sunning on rocks, even in the heat of the day, until the surface temperature reaches around 104 °F (40 °C), when they will retreat to a rock crevice or burrow.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Diet
Lesser earless lizards are insectivorous.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Species
The genus Holbrookia contains six species which are recognized as being valid.[3]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holbrookia approximans Baird, 1859Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
speckled earless lizard | Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. | |
| File:LIZARD, ELEGANT EARLESS (Holbrookia elegans) (9-24-12) california gulch, pajarito mts, scc, az -01 (8024040182).jpg | Holbrookia elegans Bocourt, 1874Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
elegant earless lizard | United States and Mexico |
| Holbrookia lacerata Cope, 1880Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
northern spot-tailed earless lizard | Mexico, in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas, and to the United States, in south-central Texas. | |
| File:Holbrookia maculata - Flickr - aspidoscelis (5).jpg | Holbrookia maculata Girard, 1851Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
lesser earless lizard | United States and northern Mexico |
| File:Holbrookia propinqua, male, Padre Island National Seashore, Kleberg Co. TX; 2 Nov 2022.jpg | Holbrookia propinqua Baird & Girard, 1852Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
keeled earless lizard | Southern Texas and northeast Mexico |
| Holbrookia subcaudalis Axtell, 1956Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
southern spot-tailed earless lizard | Mexico and the United States in southern Texas. |
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Geographic range
Earless lizards (genera Cophosaurus and Holbrookia) are found in the Southwestern and Central United States, in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and as far north as Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. They are also found in Mexico, in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
See also
- Genus Cophosaurus, the greater earless lizard
References
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- ↑ Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained. [1]
- ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. (Holbrookia, p. 125).
- ↑ Genus Holbrookia at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
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External links
Further reading
- Girard C (1851). "On a New American Saurian Reptile". Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New Haven 4: 200–202. (Holbrookia, new genus, pp. 200–201; H. maculata, new species, pp. 201–202).