Description: The Regal Horned lizard is characterized by one row of lateral abdominal fringe scales upon a wide, flattened, toad-like body. The tail is short and broad at the base. Four large occipital horns at the base of the head continuous with six temporal horns, form a large crown of ten sharp, pointed horns along the base of the head. Another distinguishing characteristic of the horned lizard is that the ventral portion of its body is composed of rows of keeled scales. The squat form, head armor, and dragon-like appearance has given rise to the name "hornytoad", "horned toad", and "horned lizard", which is the nickname commonly used for this particular genus. The Horned lizard is typically soft desert gray along the back and head. It is composed of pastel shades of tan, brown, red, and yellow. The underparts are pale, yellowish gray. Color change occurs within minutes, changing from light to dark or vice versa depending on the environment. Phrynosoma solare are on average about 5 inches in length.

Habitat: This horned lizard occupies primarily level or gently sloping terrain with openly spaced desert vegetation such as mesquite, creosote bush, and saguaro cactus. It can be found primarily in a hot and dry climate where the Earth may be covered in limestone dust. It is found in the Sonoran Desert Mountains is where it prefers its climate, but can be found in Texas, southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Range: This lizard can be found across southeastern Arizona and along the transition of the southern zone of the central mountains region.

Found in these States: AZ

Diet: They eat mostly harvester ants, and can eat twenty-five hundred ants in one meal. They are slow eaters, because they spend most of their time in the intense heat of the desert during meals. They eat flies, spiders, and a variety of insects.

Reproduction: Mating for the regal horned lizard begins in late April, peaks in June, and stops abruptly in July. Egg laying starts a few weeks later, usually in late July and early August. About 10 to 30 eggs are laid (15 on average). The eggs are laid in the sand and are required to stay there for several weeks. The egg shells are white and flexible and average about one-half inch in diameter. The hatch-lings receive no parental care upon hatching and immediately bury themselves in the sand. They are now responsible for finding and hunting for their own food. Several diverting tactics are used to attract a mate, such as: head bopping, push ups, and nodding of the head.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: