Posted on 02/02/2014 6:17:04 PM PST by patriot08
With a body covered in horns, resembling some prehistoric creature- and the demon-like ability to squirt blood from his eyes, the mere sight of the Texas horned lizard is enough to send most screaming and running in the opposite direction should they encounter him.
But most older Texans know his fierce appearance is all for show just to scare off predators. As children they used to catch and play with the lizards, for he is a gentle little creature who never bites and will go to sleep in your hand if you roll him over and rub his tummy.
This docile little creature is the state reptile of Texas and, as the "horned frog", is the mascot of Texas Christian University.
The Texas horned lizard is the largest and most abundant of the approximately 14 species of horned lizards in the western United States and Mexico. They can reach a length of 4-6 inches.
The lizards colors camouflage it against predators, and it can also puff itself up and protrude its many small body thorns making it difficult to swallow.
The Texas horned lizard also has the ability to squirt a stream of blood from its eyes for up to 5 feet. This not only frightens and confuses predators, but has a bad taste when predators such as wolves and coyotes try to eat it.
There has been a serious decline in the number of the lizards in recent years and it is illegal to take, possess, transport or sell them without a special permit. The decline is thought to be the result of overuse of pesticides and invading fire ants which destroy the harvester ants the lizards feed on.
Wow, I’ve seen photos of both, but neither in RL. I guess those (& the ones at the coast) *were* Plovers. Thanks for the links & cluing me in!
What is the horny toad Alex?
played with those things when I was a kid, can’t find them anymore, fire ants almost wiped them out.
Apologies for the double post. Thank you for the thread!
Re red ants- I remember these from my childhood (Boy, do I?!) I don’t remember them being great big. The last couple of years, we have some kind of really large, solid red (orange, really) ants invading our patio. They get into the plants. I’ve had a couple get on me, but they didn’t sting.
About those turtle people... You know that the Ridleys aren’t native to Texas, right? Mexico & Costa Rica, that I know of. Since you’re in CC, do some research into the history/ evolution of Padre Island & the “National Seashore”. (I imagine you’ve seen some of the conversations on the Caller)
When the Malaquite bunch moved in, I believe that was the first stretch of beach in Texas to be closed to vehicle traffic (bollards) & the first asphalt parking lot *on* the beach. Port Aransas followed, first with a much smaller parking area in the “official” camping section north of the pier) & years later, with closures. My mom threw a terrible fit when she saw Malaquite the first time. Interestingly, the Inland Superport (which was what my surfer friends & I were upset about) happened about the same time.
There’s an agenda here & it (now) seems there has been since nearly the beginning. (Can you say UNESCO World Heritage Site? How about Closed except for all but foot traffic? MAYbe. Your papers, please.)
While I’m off the rails, 2 more things. I don’t know how it turned out, but last year, there was talk of providing lodging onsite (on the beach; I assumed at Malaquite) for these “public servants” to live in, at taxpayer expense. Pretty sweet, huh? And guess who had their own private playground during the “shutdown”? They either didn’t know or didn’t care that they were on the webcam. In swim trunks.
Just my *very* biased, beach loving opinion, but I think the turtles need to be “re-patriated” back to Mexico & we should send their 2 legged advocates with them. Let Padre Island go back to nature, as it was before they started “improving” it.
This is not directed at you, patriot08. It’s really very easy to get taken in.
I wasn’t aware of all that, I just want to help save some little creatures.
I know they aren’t native to Texas.
We managed to save quite a few from dying who were stunned by the unusually cold weather we have had lately.
Have a great day. :)
It's funny you mention fireflies, I live in a highly populated area in S.E. Michigan and the one thing I miss from my childhood growing up in northern Michigan are the fireflies.
I lived outside a small town and in the summer they were everywhere in the field next to my house. I used to go out there in the evening and catch a bunch in a jar then put it on my dresser at night and lay in bed watching them flash.
Occasionally I think about the lack of those bugs where I live but it wasn't until this summer when I went back up north for my 45 year class reunion and stayed with an old buddy who lived out in the country in a house he built on 40 acres with the backside overlooking a small valley with woods in the background that I got to see them on display again.
My first night there I walked out onto the back deck hoping to see some deer as the sun was setting and sure enough, the fireflies were lighting up.......that was cool.
Here's another story, in all my many years here in Michigan I have only seen one Bluebird and that was at a local golf course maybe 20 years ago and yet Bluebirds are native to Michigan. From what I can figure, their nesting habitats have been taken over by the rat-sparrows and rat-starlings and they've been driven out.
That same weekend up north, I saw at least a half dozen Bluebirds around my friend's house and he said all the nesting boxes (maybe six) he had set up on the fence posts along his back yard had nesting pairs this summer........That was too cool!
Your horned toads are neat, as are all those little lizard guys. It's unfortunate their habitat is slowly eroding due to the ever increasing expansions of subdivisions........Had I grown up there, I would have been catching them left and right as a kid.
I think you might be surprised, please look at my last post.
Spreading suburbia has taken away their habitat but if you make it a point to get to the coutryside during their mating season, you will be delighted in their abundance there........
I understand. I hope you do, too.
Thanks for your stories. Very enjoyable.
We don’t live in the city, but on a ranch well outside of the city. I no longer see lightening bugs (fireflies to you :), nor our beloved horned lizards or the Texas Tortoise around.
I know that the fireants are destroying the harvester ants that are the horned lizards diet, combined with the overuse of pesticides, but I can’t imagine what has happened to the Texas tortoise.
I spent many happy hours catching and playing with these docile little creatures as a child.
(the only thing you have to watch out for is they will pee on you if you’re not careful. I guess this is their only defense. But once this is out of their system, they’re good to go. LOL)
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LOL! At least they are cuddling. ;-)
Oh, that’s really interesting to know. I could imagine them being at home up there. Beautiful country in the North, and quite a Conservative and gun loving bunch for California.
Small native, sting less bees. They can be caught by hand very easily, after which the buzzing movement of their wings tickles.
As a kid sometimes would catch one on the way to school, put it in a shirt pocket, then discover it later in the day, put it in hand, get tickled a little, then back into the pocket to be later released on the way home.
The type then local to that area seemed to prefer yellow flowers, or could be found on that color.
Here's a link to a Google images page which shows some of the "andrena" types. I'm not certain which sort was once prevalent in that part of Texas, in that era, though now assume that was what they were.
I guess I’ve seen them around, but if they looked like bees they sent me running. Stinging things frighten me to death.
As a child I was reaching up into a peach tree to get peaches and a red wasp stung me on the shoulder.
I’ve never had anything hurt so bad in my life.
My shoulder was red, painful and swollen for days.
I avoid bees, wasps, etc like the plague.
It was tiny when I saw it. Possibly 1” long. At first I did not know what it was. So fragile looking.
Don’t people eat those things- or is that something different? They look nasty- at least the ones we used to catch did. :)
I looked up a picture of a Mediterranean Gecko, and that is what I saw.
At our farm we have 6 or 7 different types of lizards. Years ago we only had 1. A green stripped lizard that was native to the rolling plains. (Texas Spotted Whiptail)
Now we have a small solid black lizard, 2 types of gray scaley lizards and other similar. They are very different in size so these are not variations in same specie.
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