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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Pigmy Short-horned Lizard

Phrynosoma douglasii (Bell, 1829)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Pygmy Short-horned Lizard Viewpoint location: Unnamed and unimproved road, Whiskey Dick Unit, L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Viewpoint elevation: 685 meter (2246 ft) Location source: Garmin GPSmap 60CSx Location Datum: WGS84

Pygmy Short-horned Lizard Viewpoint location: Unnamed and unimproved road, Whiskey Dick Unit, L.T. Murray Wildlife Area Viewpoint elevation: 685 meter (2246 ft) Location source: Garmin GPSmap 60CSx Location Datum: WGS84

Walter Siegmund (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The pygmy short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii) is a species of small horned lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. The species is native to the northwestern United States and adjacent southwestern Canada. Like other horned lizards, it is often called a "horned toad" or "horny toad", but it is not a toad at all. It is a reptile, not an amphibian.

Wikipedia contributors, Pygmy short-horned lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:25:47.510629+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Phrynosoma douglasii (Bell, 1829)
Name authority
(Bell, 1829)
Common name
Pigmy Short-horned Lizard
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Phrynosomatidae
Genus
Phrynosoma
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderIguania
  11. familyPhrynosomatidae
  12. genusPhrynosoma
  13. speciesPhrynosoma douglasii (Bell, 1829)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Phrynosoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Short-tail Horned LizardPhrynosoma braconnieri Bocourt, 1870PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Texas Horned LizardPhrynosoma cornutum (Harlan, 1825)PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Rock Horned LizardPhrynosoma ditmarsi Stejneger, 1906PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Baur’s Short-horned Lizard [bauri]Phrynosoma hernandesi Girard, 1858PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Flat-tail Horned LizardPhrynosoma mcallii (Hallowell, 1852)PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Giant Horned LizardPhrynosoma asio Cope, 1864PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
San Diego Horned LizardPhrynosoma blainvillii Gray, 1839PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Cedros Island Horned LizardPhrynosoma cerroense Stejneger, 1893PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Coast Horned LizardPhrynosoma coronatum (Blainville, 1835)PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Roundtail Horned LizardPhrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Mountain Horned LizardPhrynosoma orbiculare (Linnaeus, 1758)PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Desert Horned LizardPhrynosoma platyrhinos Girard, 1852PhrynosomatidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 135 records assigned to Phrynosomatidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Tapaya douglassi Girard, 1858 Girard, 1858synonym
Agama douglassii Bell, 1829 Bell, 1829synonym
Phrynosoma douglassi pygmaea Yarrow, 1882 Yarrow, 1882synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Canada (SC British Columbia, possibly extinct),

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Phrynosoma&species=douglasii Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4GWSQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.