Horned Lizards Book

Popularly known as horny toads, horned lizards hold a special place in Southwestern life and lore. Images of horned lizards appear on the pottery and petroglyphs of the ancient Anasazi and Mimbres Indians, while today's Native Americans revere the lizard's power to change fortunes in health and happiness. Texas and Wyoming have chosen local horned lizard species as their official state reptile, reminding us of the lizard's important ecological role as well as its dwindling numbers.

This book offers an entertaining natural history of horned lizards for a general audience. Jane Manaster covers all aspects of the lizards' biology, including their habitat and range, life cycle and behavior, and methods of defense. She also traces the long and often checkered relationship of horned lizards and people, from earlier decades when lizards (alive or stuffed) were routinely sold as curiosities to today's efforts to increase their numbers by preserving or restoring their habitat.

Horned lizards have always fascinated people with their fierce appearance and docile demeanor. This book will dispel some of the myths about them, confirm others (they do spit blood from their eyes, for example, but it isn't poisonous), and encourage people throughout the West from British Columbia to southern Mexico to protect these reptiles.