The rock horned lizard or Ditmars' horned lizard (Phrynosoma ditmarsi) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard found in Sonora in northern Mexico, south of the Arizona border. Bearing the shortest horns of all the horned lizards, it lives in thorn-scrub and deciduous Sinaloan woodlands. The Rock horned lizard was "lost" to science for about 65 years. It has a unique habitat preference and limited distribution. It also has a very imprecise holotype locality record which made it difficult to locate. An extraordinary effort by Vincent Roth based on a cross-correlational analysis of gut contents from only three specimens led to its rediscovery.
Its specific name, ditmarsi, is in honor of Raymond Lee Ditmars, the first curator of reptiles of the Bronx Zoo, and a pioneer in herpetology.
Read more about Rock Horned Lizard: Description
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