"Stop!"

Seems like Jake hollers "stop" a lot when we're on the road. I haven't figured out whether that's because I'm always looking in the wrong places or because of my failing vision. Probably a little of both.

"That was a 'horny toad.' A baby horny toad!" Jake continued.



I was already backing up and sure enough, barely on the pavement, at grass edge, was a juvenile Texas horned lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum. And just behind it was another.

The stretch of road we were on was a bit north from the Rio Grande in western Texas. Over the years, I consistently found adult Texas horned lizards along this roadway. Although this strong and consistent population indicated that I was seeing a viable and reproducing population, until this trip I had not actually seen any juvenile examples.

But now, with two tiny post-hatchlings on the roadside there was no longer any question of whether or not the population was breeding.

Thanks, Jake.

More photos below...