Lizards in Texas: Horned Lizards, Anoles and More

How many lizards live in Texas?

The standard reference, Texas Lizards: A Field Guide by Troy and Toby Hibbitts (2015), describes about 45 native species and six introduced species that have settled in the state. The exact total changes as scientists split or merge species and as new introductions are found.

Texas has so many lizards because it sits where several regions meet. Pine forests and coastal prairies in the east hold eastern species such as the green anole and broad-headed skink. The limestone hills of the Edwards Plateau, the brushland of South Texas, the High Plains and the Chihuahuan Desert of the Trans-Pecos each add their own lizards, including many that reach the northern edge of their range in Texas.

Texas horned lizard: the state reptile

The Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) is a flat, round-bodied lizard with a crown of bony horns on the back of its head and rows of pointed scales along its sides. Its sandy, reddish or tan coloring, with dark blotches edged in white and a pale stripe down the back, blends into bare ground. Females are larger than males, with a snout-to-vent length of up to about 11 cm (4.5 in).

Despite the nicknames “horny toad” and “horned frog,” it is a true lizard. It lives in open, sparsely vegetated country with loose soil and feeds mainly on harvester ants: studies have found ants make up around 70% of its diet, and one lizard may eat from about 30 to more than 100 ants a day. It has special mucus and a blood factor that protect it from the ants’ venom.

When threatened, a horned lizard first relies on camouflage, then puffs up its body so its spines stick out. Its most famous defense is squirting blood from the corners of its eyes, up to about 1.5 m (5 ft). This works mainly against dogs, coyotes and foxes, which find the blood distasteful; it does little against hawks.

Why Texas horned lizards declined

The Texas horned lizard has disappeared from much of East and Central Texas, and Texas listed it as a threatened species in 1977. It is illegal to collect, keep or sell one without a permit. Across its whole range, which extends into Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico and northern Mexico, the IUCN still lists it as Least Concern.

Several causes act together. Red imported fire ants, which spread across Texas from the mid-20th century, wipe out harvester ant colonies, and pesticides used against fire ants kill native ants too. Habitat has been lost to farming, roads and towns. Earlier, huge numbers were collected for the pet and souvenir trade, helped by the legend of “Ol’ Rip,” a horned lizard said to have survived 31 years sealed in a courthouse cornerstone in Eastland in 1928. Most captive horned lizards died within months because of their specialized diet.

Today the Fort Worth Zoo, Dallas Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, Texas Christian University and Texas Parks and Wildlife work on research, captive breeding and releases into restored habitat. Members of the public can help by reporting sightings to state citizen-science projects.

Other horned lizards in Texas

Two smaller horned lizards live in far West Texas. The round-tailed horned lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) reaches only about 10.5 cm (4.3 in) in total length; when still, it looks like a pebble on desert gravel. The greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi) lives in the higher mountains of the Trans-Pecos. Unlike most lizards, it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Green anole and brown anole

The green anole (Anolis carolinensis) is the classic lizard of East Texas yards, fences and shrubs. It is slim, with a long pointed head and sticky toe pads, and it can change from bright green to brown, which is why it is sometimes wrongly called a chameleon. Males flash a pink throat fan, called a dewlap, and bob their heads to defend territories. In Texas it ranges along the Gulf Coast and inland to the Hill Country and the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

The brown anole (Anolis sagrei), originally from Cuba and the Bahamas, has been introduced to parts of Texas. It is stockier, always brown or gray, and spends more time near the ground. In Florida, where it is now widespread, it has pushed green anoles to perch higher in trees.

Spiny lizards and fence lizards

Spiny lizards (Sceloporus) are the rough-scaled lizards seen doing “push-ups” on fence posts, trees and rocks. The Texas spiny lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus) is the large gray one on mesquite and oak trunks across Central and South Texas, usually 19–28 cm (7.5–11 in) long. Males have blue patches on the belly.

The crevice spiny lizard has a bold black collar edged in white and lives on rocky outcrops and walls in Central and West Texas. The blue spiny lizard, a large, stocky species tinged with blue, lives in rocky areas of South Texas. The smaller prairie lizard, rose-bellied lizard and canyon lizard fill open grassland, brush and desert canyons. A related species, the dunes sagebrush lizard, lives only in shinnery oak sand dunes in a few counties of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico; it was listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act in 2024.

Collared, leopard and earless lizards

The eastern collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) is one of the most striking lizards in the state: big-headed, 20–38 cm (8–15 in) long, often green or blue in males, with two black collar bands. On open ground it can sprint on its hind legs. It eats insects and smaller lizards. Its relative the reticulated collared lizard, found in the brush country of South Texas, is listed as threatened in Texas.

The long-nosed leopard lizard of West Texas is a slim, spotted desert hunter that also preys on other lizards. Earless lizards, such as the greater earless lizard of rocky West and Central Texas and the keeled earless lizard of coastal dunes and South Texas, have no external ear openings. The greater earless lizard curls its tail to flash black-and-white bars.

Whiptails and racerunners

Whiptails (Aspidoscelis) are long-tailed, striped or spotted lizards that forage actively in the heat of the day, poking their snouts into soil and leaf litter. They are fast and nervous and rarely let people come close. The six-lined racerunner is the most widespread, found in sandy, open ground over most of Texas. The Texas spotted whiptail is common in Central and South Texas.

Several Texas whiptails are all-female species. The common checkered whiptail, the Laredo striped whiptail, the desert grassland whiptail and the Chihuahuan spotted whiptail reproduce by parthenogenesis: females lay eggs that develop without fertilization, producing daughters that are genetic copies of their mother. These species arose from hybrids between different whiptail species.

Skinks

Skinks are smooth, shiny lizards with short legs. The little brown skink, or ground skink, is the smallest lizard in much of East Texas and hides in leaf litter. Young five-lined and broad-headed skinks have bright blue tails; if a predator grabs the tail, it breaks off and keeps wriggling while the skink escapes. You can read more in why lizards drop their tails.

The Great Plains skink, up to nearly 34 cm (13 in) long, lives in the grasslands and rocky hills of western Texas. The four-lined skink is found in South and Central Texas. A common Southern myth claims skinks are venomous “scorpions”; they are completely harmless.

Geckos, including the Mediterranean house gecko

The pale, bumpy lizard on walls around porch lights at night is usually the Mediterranean house gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus). Native to the Mediterranean region, it is now established in towns across Texas. It is 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long, has sticky toe pads and large lidless eyes, and makes soft chirping calls. For how its feet work, see how geckos climb walls. The common house gecko and rough-tailed gecko have also settled locally.

Texas also has native geckos. The Texas banded gecko (Coleonyx brevis) of West and South Texas rarely exceeds 10 cm (4 in), has movable eyelids and lacks sticky toe pads. The larger reticulated banded gecko lives in the Big Bend region and is protected as a threatened species in Texas.

Alligator lizards and glass lizards

The Texas alligator lizard (Gerrhonotus infernalis) of the Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos is often called the largest lizard in Texas, with adults reaching about 50–60 cm (20–24 in). It has heavy, plate-like scales and a long tail and moves slowly through rocky, wooded canyons.

The slender glass lizard of East and Central Texas has no legs and is often mistaken for a snake. It can be told apart by its eyelids, ear openings and stiff body. Its very long tail breaks into pieces when grabbed, which gave glass lizards their name. To compare lizards with other small four-legged animals, see lizard vs salamander.

Are there venomous lizards in Texas?

No. Only a few lizards in the world have venom that is dangerous to people, and in North America they are the Gila monster and the beaded lizards of Mexico and Central America. The Gila monster lives in the deserts of Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, southeastern California and northwestern Mexico, but not in Texas. A large lizard seen in Texas is far more likely to be a Texas alligator lizard, a collared lizard or a spiny lizard.

Like any wild animal, a large lizard may bite if grabbed, so the simple rule is to watch without handling.

Where and when to see lizards in Texas

Most Texas lizards are active from March to October and bask in the morning sun. Spring is the best season, when males display and many species are out by day. In midsummer, lizards in West Texas often retreat to shade by midday.

Good places to look include Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park in the Trans-Pecos, the state parks and natural areas of the Hill Country, the brushland of South Texas and the dunes of Padre Island National Seashore. In towns, check fences, tree trunks and lit walls at night. Compare Texas with the very different mix of species in lizards in Florida.