The status of short-horned lizards, Phrynosoma douglasi and P. hernandezi, in Canada

Abstract

Short-horned Lizards reach their northern distribution limits in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Two specimens of the Pygmy Short-horned Lizard (P. douglasi) were reported in 1898 from the vicinity of Osoyoos, British Columbia; there have been no validated sightings since. It was probably found on the sandy lacustrine terraces lining the bottom of the Okanagan Valley in the vicinity of Osoyoos Lake, but intensive searches of this area in August 1991 were negative. The Short-horned Lizard (P. hernandezi) has an interrupted distribution in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan. The vegetation within its range in these provinces is mixed grass prairie within the dry steppe climatic region. Populations in these provinces are confined to south-facing slopes, grassland-badlands ecotones, and Bearpaw shale outcrops. The distribution appears to be relictual. Phrynosoma douglasi is apparently extirpated in British Columbia and Phrynosoma hernandezi is vulnerable in Alberta and Saskatchewan.