Desert Horned Lizard vs. Greater Short-horned Lizard

Both are flat, round, spiny horned lizards of southern Idaho. A: the Desert Horned Lizard's horns at the back of the head are noticeably long and protruding, the two central ones well developed and pointing backward; the Greater Short-horned Lizard's are reduced to tiny, blunt nubs or rounded bumps (hence the name). B: the Desert Horned Lizard has a single row of pointed fringe scales along the side of the belly; the Greater Short-horned Lizard has two overlapping rows. C: in profile the Desert Horned Lizard's snout is blunt and flattened, sloping steeply from the eyes to the mouth in a wedge; the Greater Short-horned Lizard's head is short, rounded and toad-like. The Desert Horned Lizard lives on sandy and gravelly desert flats of the southwest; the Greater Short-horned Lizard on high sagebrush plains of the east and southeast.

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

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