Holbrookia

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Holbrookia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Phrynosomatidae
Genus: Holbrookia
Girard, 1851
Keeled earless lizard (Holbrookia propinqua) female, municipality of Soto La Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico (20 May 2002).

Holbrookia is a genus of earless lizards, known commonly as the lesser earless lizards, in the family Phrynosomatidae. The genus contains six recognized species, which are found throughout the Southwestern and Central United States and northern Mexico. They are characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent soil from entering their bodies when they are digging.

Etymology[edit]

The generic name, Holbrookia, is in honor of American zoologist John Edwards Holbrook.[1][2]

Description[edit]

Lesser earless lizards grow to about 2.0–2.5 in (50–65 mm) snout-to-vent length (SVL), plus a tail of 3–4 in (75–100 mm). They are typically grey or tan in color, with black blotching. The males usually have blue patches on either side of their bellies, whereas the females do not. Females often change to have bright orange patches when gravid.[citation needed]

Behavior[edit]

Holbrookia species are diurnal, basking lizards. They spend the vast majority of their time sunning on rocks, even in the heat of the day, until the surface temperature reaches around 104 °F (40 °C), when they will retreat to a rock crevice or burrow.[citation needed]

Diet[edit]

Lesser earless lizards are insectivorous.[citation needed]

Species[edit]

The genus Holbrookia contains six species which are recognized as being valid.[3]

Image Scientific Name Common Name Distribution
Holbrookia approximans
Baird, 1859
speckled earless lizard Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Holbrookia elegans
Bocourt, 1874
elegant earless lizard United States and Mexico
Holbrookia lacerata
Cope, 1880
northern spot-tailed earless lizard Mexico, in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas, and to the United States, in south-central Texas.
Holbrookia maculata
Girard, 1851
lesser earless lizard United States and northern Mexico
Holbrookia propinqua
Baird & Girard, 1852
keeled earless lizard Southern Texas and northeast Mexico
Holbrookia subcaudalis
Axtell, 1956
southern spot-tailed earless lizard Mexico and the United States in southern Texas.

Geographic range[edit]

Earless lizards (genera Cophosaurus and Holbrookia) are found in the Southwestern and Central United States, in 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 Potosí, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained. [1]
  2. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Holbrookia, p. 125).
  3. ^ Genus Holbrookia at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

External links[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Girard C (1851). "On a New American Saurian Reptile". Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New Haven 4: 200–202. (Holbrookia, new genus, pp. 200–201; H. maculata, new species, pp. 201–202).