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Holbrookia lacerata COPE, 1880

IUCN Red List - Holbrookia lacerata - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaPhrynosomatidae, Phrynosomatinae, Callisaurini; Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Spot-tailed Earless Lizard, Plateau Earless Lizard, Northern Spot-tailed Earless Lizard
S: Lagartija Cola Punteada 
SynonymHolbrookia lacerata COPE 1880: 15
Holbrookia lacerata — BOULENGER 1885: 209
Holbrookia maculata lacerata — COPE 1900
Holbrookia lacerata — SCHMIDT 1922: 718
Holbrookia maculata lacerata — SMITH 1946
Holbrookia maculata lacerata — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 83
Holbrookia lacerata lacerata — AXTELL 1956
Holbrookia lacerata — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 101
Holbrookia lacerata — CROTHER 2000
Holbrookia lacerata lacerata — CROTHER et al. 2012
Holbrookia lacerata lacerata — ROELKE et al. 2018
Holbrookia lacerata — HIBBITTS et al. 2019
Holbrookia lacerata — FIRNENO et al. 2024 
DistributionUSA (S/C Texas),
Mexico (NE Coahuila, N Nuevo Leon, NW Tamaulipas ?)

lacerata: USA (Texas); Type locality: not given by COPE 1880 but said to be "Erath County, west of the upper Brazos .... in Comanche County," and "on the Guadalupe River in Kendall or Comal County." Revised by Axtell (1956:172) to "within a circle with a three mile radius from Helotes [29° 35' N, 98° 41' W], Bexar County, Texas".

subcaudalis: Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas ?, N Nuevo Leon), USA (Texas); Type locality: "In plowed field 4.8 miles east northeast (27° 36' N, 97° 45' W) of Bishop, Nueces County, Texas. Elevation 75 feet."  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: USNM 10160A, adult male (selected from 2 syntypes by Axtell 1956: 172) 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 3049 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: Axtell 1956: 164 pointed out that Erath and Comanche counties are actually outside the range of H. lacerata. The revised type locality is that indicated on the tag of the lectotype. The Holbrookia in Erath and Comanche Co. is H. maculata perspicua (R. Axtell, pers. comm., 11 Oct 2014). 
EtymologyNamed after the Latin term lacerare "torn; mangled," presumably referring to the conspicuous serrations on the posterior edges of the dorsal blotches. 
References
  • Axtell, R.W. & De Queiroz, K. 2017. Geographic Distribution: Holbrookia lacerata lacerata (Northern Spot-tailed Earless Lizard). Herpetological Review 48 (4): 812 - get paper here
  • Axtell, Ralph W. 1956. A solution to the long neglected Holbrookia lacerata problem, and the description of two new subspecies of Holbrookia. Bulletin of the Chicago Academy of Sciences 10 (11): 163-179
  • Axtell, Ralph W. 1968. Holbrookia lacerata. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (56): 1-2 - get paper here
  • Baeza-Tarín, F., Hernández, T., Herr, M., Giovanetto, L., Lazcano, D., & Graham, S. P. 2025. NEW DISTRIBUTION RECORDS OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF MADERAS DEL CARMEN, COAHUILA, MEXICO. The Southwestern Naturalist, 68(4), 257-262 - get paper here
  • Bartlett, R. D. & Bartlett, P. 1999. A Field Guide to Texas Reptiles and Amphibians. Gulf Publishing Co., Houston, Texas, 331 pp.
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here
  • Collins, J.T. and T. W. Taggart 2009. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Sixth Edition. Center for North American Herpetology, 48 pp.
  • Conant,R. & Collins,J.T. 1991. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern/Central North America, 3rd ed. Houghton Mifflin (Boston/New York), xx + 450 p.
  • Cope, E.D. 1880. On the zoological position of Texas. Bull. US Natl. Mus., No. 17: 1-51 - get paper here
  • Crother, B. I. 2000. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Herpetological Circular 29: 1-82
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • Dixon, James R. 2000. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas, second edition. Texas A&M University Press, 421 pp.
  • Duran, C. M., Anderson, W. M. & Perry, G. 2012. Geographic distribution: Holbrookia lacerata lacerata (northern spot-tailed earless lizard). Herpetological Review 43: 305-306 - get paper here
  • Eversole, C. B., Ayala, R., Rangel, E. D., & Henke, S. E. 2024. Cloudy with a Chance of Survival: Simulating the Effects of Climate, Habitat, and Management on the Population Viability of an At-Risk Lizard Species. Global Ecology and Conservation, e03179 - get paper here
  • Firneno, T. J., Roelke, C. E., Leaché, A. D., Rains, N. D., Hibbitts, T. J., Ryberg, W. A., Laduc, T. J., Singhal, S., & Fujita, M. K. 2024. Genome-wide data reinforces the evolutionary relationships of previously problematic earless lizards (Phyrnosomatidae: Holbrookia). Bulletin of the Society of Systematic Biologists - get paper here
  • Lazcano D, Nevárez-de los Reyes M, García-Padilla E, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V, DeSantis DL, Wilson LD. 2019. The herpetofauna of Coahuila, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [General Section]: 31–94 (e189) - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal, J.A. & Smith, H.M. 2007. Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Coahuila, Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 550 pp.
  • Liner, Ernest A. 2007. A CHECKLIST OF THE AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF MEXICO. Louisiana State University Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science 80: 1-60 - get paper here
  • Liner, Ernest A.;Montanucci, Richard R.;González-Alonso, Arturo;Mendoza Quijano, Fernando 1993. An additional contribution to the herpetology of Northern Coahuila, Mexico. Bol. Soc. Herpetol. Mex. 5 (1): 9-11 - get paper here
  • Maldonado, Jose A. 2022. Signatures of Genome Evolution in Two Divergent Lizard Species from Texas. PhD thesis, UTA, - get paper here
  • Marr, John C. 1944. Notes on amphibians and reptiles from the Central United States. American Midland Naturalist 32: 478-490 - get paper here
  • Neuharth, D B; Frizzell, S L; Ryberg, W A & Hibbitts, T J 2018. Holbrookia lacerata (Spot-tailed Earless Lizard) Predation. Herpetological Review 49 (3): 537 - get paper here
  • Neuharth, D B; Walkup, D K; Frizzell, S L; Kachel, J Z; Adams, C S; Johnson, T E; Hibbitts, T J & Ryberg, W A 2018. Holbrookia lacerata (Spot-tailed Earless Lizard) Burying behavior. Herpetological Review 49 (3): 536-537 - get paper here
  • Nevárez-de-los-Reyes, Manuel, David Lazcano, Elí García-Padilla, Vicente Mata-Silva, Jerry D. Johnson and Larry David Wilson. 2016. The Herpetofauna of Nuevo León, Mexico: Composition, Distribution, and Conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3 (3): 558–638 - get paper here
  • Pilliod, D., Jeffries, M., Arkle, R. and Olson, D. 2024. Climate Futures for Lizards and Snakes in Western North America May Result in New Species Management Issues. Ecol Evol, 14: e70379 - get paper here
  • Rangel, E. D. 2023. Identifying Best Practices to Survey for Spot-Tailed Earless Lizards. MSc thesis, TAMU - get paper here
  • Rangel, E. D., Henke, S. E., Ayala, R. A., & Eversole, C. B. 2024. A Comprehensive Review of the Ecology and Conservation Status of Spottailed Earless Lizards (Holbrookia lacerata and Holbrookia subcaudalis). Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science, 2, 1412860 - get paper here
  • RANGEL, E. DRAKE; CHRISTIN MOELLER, LUKE WILLARD, SCOTT HENKE, CORD B. EVERSOLE & RUBY AYALA. 2022. Approach tolerance and escape distances of Plateau, (Holbrookia lacerata) and Tamaulipan, (Holbrookia subcaudalis), Spot-tailed Earless Lizards. Herpetology Notes 15: 267–270. - get paper here
  • RANGEL, E. DRAKE; SCOTT E. HENKE, CHRISTIN MOELLER, LUKE WILLARD, CORD B. EVERSOLE & RUBY AYALA. 2022. HOLBROOKIA LACERATA (Plateau Spot-tailed Earless Lizard) and HOLBROOKIA SUBCAUDALIS (Tamaulipan Spot-tailed Earless Lizard). BURYING BEHAVIOR. Herpetological Review 53 (3): 497–498.
  • RANGEL, E. DRAKE; SCOTT E. HENKE, CHRISTIN MOELLER, LUKE WILLARD, CORD B. EVERSOLE & RUBY AYALA. 2022. HOLBROOKIA LACERATA (Plateau Spot-tailed Earless Lizard) and HOLBROOKIA SUBCAUDALIS (Tamaulipan Spot-tailed Earless Lizard). HABITAT USE. Herpetological Review 53 (3): 498.
  • RANGEL, E. DRAKE; SCOTT E. HENKE, CHRISTIN MOELLER, RUBY AYALA & CORD EVERSOLE. 2022. First report of clutch size and captive nesting of Holbrookia lacerata and Holbrookia subcaudalis (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae). Herpetology Notes 15: 823–824. - get paper here
  • Roelke, Corey E.; Jose A. Maldonado, Blake W. Pope, Thomas J. Firneno Jr, Travis J. Laduc, Toby J. Hibbitts, Wade A. Ryberg, Nathan D. Rains & Matthew K. Fujita 2018. Mitochondrial genetic variation within and between Holbrookia lacerata lacerata and Holbrookia lacerata subcaudalis, the spot-tailed earless lizards of Texas. Journal of Natural History 52: 1017-1027 - get paper here
  • Smith, Hobart M. 1946. Handbook of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Comstock, Ithaca, NY, xxii + 557 pp.
  • Walkup, D K; Adams, C S; Ryberg, W A & Hibbitts, T J; 2018. Holbrookia lacerata (Spot-tailed Earless Lizard) Predation. Herpetological Review 49 (4): 742-743 - get paper here
  • Weidler, J M 2019. Protected areas of Texas in relation to Texas reptiles. Herpetological Review 50 (3): 462-473 - get paper here
  • Werning, H. 2017. Der große Treck – Teil 5. Don’t mess with Texas. Reptilia (Münster) 22 (128): 68-79 - get paper here
 
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