Michelle Connally, 2018
May 9, 2023 – Tuesday 7:00 PM – Click on the Date for additional information.
Millions of Americans remember playing with “Horny Toads” in bygone decades. That’s because the Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) were one of the last pieces of the prairie that held on. As the prairie was first de-buffaloed, de-prairie dogged, de-wolfed, and eventually de-grassed of its natives, only the smaller species that could hang on to the scantiest patches of degraded prairie remained. Horny Toads and the Prairie Seed Harvester Ants they ate were among these, but they too eventually succumbed. This alarmed many a plainsfolk, and in 1967 the Texas Horned Lizard was designated a threatened species by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The State of Oklahoma also followed suit, granting Horny Toads some protection. In 1993, the Texas House and Senate adopted a resolution to officially designate the Texas Horned Lizard as the State Reptile of Texas. And while such designations and resolutions help state governments heed the plight of horny toads, these were only the beginning course of action.
About our Speaker:
He grew up on the coastal prairie in Texas City near Galveston Bay. A lifelong reptile lover, he received his Masters of Science in Biology at Texas Christian University where he studied camouflage of Texas Horned Lizards against Texas soils and native prairie grass. He also wrote a book on Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes of the Big Bend region. His love for wildlife doesn’t end at reptiles, he is also on the board for the Texas Lobo Coalition, an organization that seeks to restore wild wolves to Texas. At Native American Seed he creates native seed mixes for wildlife species based on their food webs.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas Horned Lizard Watch – management and monitoring packet
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