NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Roundtail Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The roundtail horned lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) is a species of lizard in the family Phrynosomatidae. It is one of the smaller species of the horned lizards (genus Phrynosoma). The specific epithet, modestum, is Latin, meaning "modest" or "calm". The species is native to the United States, in western Texas, New Mexico, eastern Arizona, and southeastern Colorado; and eight states in northcentral Mexico, where it is referred to as tapayaxtin.
Wikipedia contributors, Roundtail horned lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:35:27.187929+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852
- Name authority
- Girard, 1852
- Common name
- Roundtail 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyPhrynosomatidae
- genusPhrynosoma
- speciesPhrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Phrynosoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Short-tail Horned LizardPhrynosoma braconnieri Bocourt, 1870 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Texas Horned LizardPhrynosoma cornutum (Harlan, 1825) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rock Horned LizardPhrynosoma ditmarsi Stejneger, 1906 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pigmy Short-horned LizardPhrynosoma douglasii (Bell, 1829) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Baur’s Short-horned Lizard [bauri]Phrynosoma hernandesi Girard, 1858 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Flat-tail Horned LizardPhrynosoma mcallii (Hallowell, 1852) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Giant Horned LizardPhrynosoma asio Cope, 1864 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| San Diego Horned LizardPhrynosoma blainvillii Gray, 1839 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cedros Island Horned LizardPhrynosoma cerroense Stejneger, 1893 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coast Horned LizardPhrynosoma coronatum (Blainville, 1835) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mountain Horned LizardPhrynosoma orbiculare (Linnaeus, 1758) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Desert Horned LizardPhrynosoma platyrhinos Girard, 1852 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Phrynosoma&species=modestum 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:4GWT5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.