Holbrookia
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Holbrookia | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Phrynosomatidae |
Genus: | Holbrookia Girard, 1851 |
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
The generic name, Holbrookia, is in honor of American zoologist John Edwards Holbrook.[1][2]
Description
Lesser earless lizards grow to about 2.0–2.5 in (50–65 mm)
Behavior
Holbrookia species are
Diet
Lesser earless lizards are insectivorous.[citation needed]
Species
The genus Holbrookia contains six species which are recognized as being valid.[3]
Image | Scientific Name | Common Name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Holbrookia approximans , 1859Baird |
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
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
- Genus Cophosaurus, the greater earless lizard
References
- ^ Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained. [1]
- ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Holbrookia, p. 125).
- ^ Genus Holbrookia at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
External links
Further reading
- 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).