NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Desert Horned Lizard
Phrynosoma platyrhinos 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 desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard native to western North America. They are often referred to as "horny toads", although they are not toads, but lizards.
Wikipedia contributors, Desert horned lizard; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:56:06.884737+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Phrynosoma platyrhinos Girard, 1852
- Name authority
- Girard, 1852
- Common name
- Desert 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 platyrhinos 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 |
| Roundtail Horned LizardPhrynosoma modestum Girard, 1852 | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mountain Horned LizardPhrynosoma orbiculare (Linnaeus, 1758) | PhrynosomatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anota calidiarum Cope, 1896 Cope, 1896 | synonym |
| Doliosaurus platyrhinos Girard, 1858 Girard, 1858 | synonym |
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=platyrhinos 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:4GWTD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.