TX Horny Toad Linda Rupard

The TX Horned lizard or (horny toad)  is a flat bodied & scary-looking lizard.  The head has numerous horns, with 2 central head spines being much longer then the others.   Horned toads are brownish with fringed scales running along each side of the body.   They can be found in some of the semiarid parts of south-central US to Northern MX.
The TX horned  toad is currently listed as a threatened species in TX.  It is illegal to have one.   I remember when I was growing up we lived in the country & we saw many of these sweet lizards, but it  has been a very long time since I have even seen one.  For a while back in the 50's & 60's tourist wanted them for pets and taking them out of their natural habitats they would die.  Horned toads will puff up & become very fat when threatened causing its scales to protrude.  They can squirt an aimed  stream of blood  from corners of  eyes & sometimes  the mouth.  Confuses predators and mixed with a chemical it is foul tasting to canines.
As 70% of horned toads diet is harvester ants, supplemented  with termites,  beetles & grasshoppers, part of their  decline is blamed on overuse of pesticides & red imported fire ants, both destroy harvester ant colonies,  the main source of food for horned toads.

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