Phrynosomatidae is a diverse family of lizards, found from Panama to the extreme south of Canada. Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spiny lizards prefer rocky deserts or even relatively moist forest edges, and the short-horned lizard lives in prairie or sagebrush environments. The group includes both egg-laying and viviparous species, with the latter being more common in species living at high elevations.^[2]

Genera

There are 136 species, organised into 10 genera in this family.

The earless taxa (Cophosaurus and Holbrookia) are sister genera.

Family Phrynosomatidae

• Callisaurus Blainville, 1835 – zebra-tailed lizards
• Cophosaurus Troschel, 1852 – greater earless lizards
• Holbrookia Girard, 1851 – earless lizards
• Petrosaurus Boulenger, 1885 – California rock lizards
• Phrynosoma Wiegmann, 1828 – horned lizards
• Sator Dickerson, 1919 – sators
• Sceloporus Wiegmann, 1828 – spiny lizards
• Uma Baird, 1859 – fringe-toed lizards
• Urosaurus Hallowell, 1854 – tree and brush lizards
• Uta Baird & Girard, 1852 – side-blotched lizards

References

Earless lizards are two genera of small lizards native to the semi-arid and grassland habitats of the southwestern United States and Mexico. The genus Cophosaurus and the genus Holbrookia are both characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent sand from entering the body as they dig.

Geographic range

Earless lizards are found from the southwestern and central United States, in the states of 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 Potosi, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and Veracruz.

References

• Genus Holbrookia at The Reptile Database
• Genus Cophosaurus at The Reptile Database