Coast Horned Lizard
(Phrynosoma coronatum)

The Coast Horned Lizard is a wide, flattened lizard with prominent horns on the head and body formed from modified scales. These distinctive lizards are commonly found in a variety of habitats. The Coast Horned Lizard occurs from sea level to 8,000 feet in elevation throughout most of California south into Baja California. Other horned lizard species feed entirely on ants, but the Coast Horned Lizard feeds on insect larvae in addition to ants and is the least ant specialist of the group.

Status: California Species of Special Concern
Habitat: Coastal Sage Scrub, alluvial fan sage scrub, chaparral, and coniferous forests
Diet: Insect larvae and ants
Breeding Season: April through July
Typical number of eggs per clutch: 6-49
Adult mean* snout-vent length: 81 cm
Adult active period on the Preserve: May through August
Hatchling mean* snout-vent length: 31 cm
Hatchling active period on the Preserve: September through early October (see graph)

*mean measurement of individuals captured in the San Bernardino Valley by Museum researchers

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