Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Common Lesser Earless Lizard

Holbrookia maculata

Girard, 1851

Common Lesser Earless Lizard

G5Secure Found in 13 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104129
Element CodeARACF08020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassReptilia
OrderSquamata
FamilyPhrynosomatidae
GenusHolbrookia
Other Common Names
lesser earless lizard (EN)
Concept Reference
Crother, B. I., J. Boundy, J. A. Campbell, K. de Quieroz, D. Frost, D. M. Green, R. Highton, J. B. Iverson, R. W. McDiarmid, P. A. Meylan, T. W. Reeder, M. E. Seidel, J. W. Sites, Jr., S. G. Tilley, and D. B. Wake. 2003. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico: update. Herpetological Review 34:198-203.
Taxonomic Comments
Holbrookia elegans formerly was included in Holbrookia maculata. It was determined that Holbrookia maculata from the United States forms three non-overlapping mtDNA haplotype clades (Blaine 2008, Mulcahy et al. 2022). These clades correspond with subspecies campi, flavilenta, and maculata (Crother 2017, Nicholson 2025). H. m. ruthveni is recognized as a subspecies by Crother (2017) and Nicholson (2025) but is considered an incompletely-speciated form within H. maculata (Rosenbloom and Harmon 2010).

MtDNA analyses by Blaine (2008) support the synonymy of H. m. pulchra (misspelled "pulcra") with H. e. thermophila.
Conservation Status
Review Date2005-07-18
Change Date1996-10-28
Edition Date2005-07-18
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Range Extent Comments
Southern South Dakota to central Texas, southwest to southeastern Utah and Arizona, southward to Jalisco and Guanajuato, Mexico (Stebbins 2003). Elevational range extends from sea level to around 6,890 feet (2,100 meters) (Stebbins 2003).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by hundreds of collection sites (e.g., Collins 1993, Degenhardt et al. 1996, Hammerson 1999, Dixon 2000).
Threat Impact Comments
Populations have been reduced or eliminated in some areas as a result of large-scale intensive cultivation. However, many viable populations remain, and the species currently faces no major threats. These lizards are attracted to disturbances (cattle grazing, fire) that create openings in otherwise thick vegetation (see Hammerson 1999).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitats include areas of sparse vegetation and sandy or gravelly soil: washes, streambanks, dunes, prairie, mesquite and pinyon-juniper woodland, sagebrush flats, farmland, and shrubby/grassy sandhills (Collins 1993, Hammerson 1999, Stebbins 2003). This species seeks refuge in rodent burrows or by wriggling into the soil. Eggs are laid in soil/underground.

Ecology

Home range size averages about 0.4-0.5 ha in males and about 0.2-0.4 ha in females, with both intersexual and intrasexual overlap, especially at high population densities (Nebraska, Jones and Droge 1980; Arizona, Hulse 1985).

Reproduction

Lays 1-2 clutches of 1-12 eggs from April to September (May-July in north). Eggs hatch in 1-2 months.
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferShrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceousDesertSand/duneCropland/hedgerow
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ColoradoS5Yes
WyomingS2Yes
TexasS5Yes
KansasS3Yes
OklahomaS4Yes
ArizonaS5Yes
Navajo NationS4Yes
New MexicoS5Yes
UtahSHYes
South DakotaS2Yes
NebraskaSUYes
Roadless Areas (13)
Arizona (3)
AreaForestAcres
FritschePrescott National Forest14,190
Santa TeresaCoronado National Forest8,929
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
New Mexico (10)
AreaForestAcres
Apache Kid ContiguousCibola National Forest67,542
Candian RiverCibola National Forest7,149
Contiguous To Black & Aldo Leopold WildernessGila National Forest111,883
Contiguous To Blue Range WildernessGila National Forest1,980
Devils CreekGila National Forest89,916
Peloncillo (NM)Coronado National Forest43,339
Poverty CreekGila National Forest8,770
Wagon TongueGila National Forest11,411
Wahoo MountainGila National Forest23,122
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
References (27)
  1. Axtell, R. W. 1958. A monographic revision of the iguanid genus <i>Holbrookia</i>. Ph.D. Dissertation, Univ. Texas, Austin.
  2. Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999a. A field guide to Texas reptiles &amp; amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas. xviii + 331 pp.
  3. Baxter, G. T. and M. D. Stone. 1985. Amphibians and reptiles of Wyoming. Second edition. Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Cheyenne. 137 pp.
  4. Behler, J. L., and F. W. King. 1979. The Audubon Society field guide to North American reptiles and amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 719 pp.
  5. Blaine, R. A. 2008. Biogeography of the North American southwest sand lizards. PhD Dissertation, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. 202 pp.
  6. Collins, J. T. 1982. Amphibians and reptiles in Kansas. Second edition. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist., Pub. Ed. Ser. 8. xiii + 356 pp.
  7. Collins, J. T. 1990. Standard common and current scientific names for North American amphibians and reptiles. 3rd ed. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular No. 19. 41 pp.
  8. Collins, J. T. 1993. Amphibians and reptiles in Kansas. Third edition, revised. University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Public Education Series No. 13. xx + 397 pp.
  9. Conant, R., and J. T. Collins. 1998. A field guide to reptiles and amphibians: eastern and central North America. Third edition, expanded. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 616 pp.
  10. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2008. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Sixth edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Herpetological Circular 37:1-84. Online with updates at: http://www.ssarherps.org/pages/comm_names/Index.php
  11. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2012. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 7th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 39:1-92.
  12. Crother, B. I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. 8th edition. SSAR Herpetological Circular 43:1-104. [Updates in SSAR North American Species Names Database at: https://ssarherps.org/cndb]
  13. Crother, B. I., J. Boundy, J. A. Campbell, K. de Quieroz, D. Frost, D. M. Green, R. Highton, J. B. Iverson, R. W. McDiarmid, P. A. Meylan, T. W. Reeder, M. E. Seidel, J. W. Sites, Jr., S. G. Tilley, and D. B. Wake. 2003. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico: update. Herpetological Review 34:198-203.
  14. Degenhardt, W. G., C. W. Painter, and A. H. Price. 1996. Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. xix + 431 pp.
  15. Dixon, J. R. 2000. Amphibians and reptiles of Texas. Second edition. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 421 pp.
  16. Duellman, W. E. 1955. Notes on amphibians and reptiles from Arizona. Occasional Papers Of The Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, Number 569:1-18.
  17. Fitch, H. S. 1970. Reproductive cycles of lizards and snakes. Univ. Kansas Museum Natural History Miscellaneous Publication 52:1-247.
  18. Hammerson, G. A. 1982b. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver. vii + 131 pp.
  19. Hammerson, G. A. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles in Colorado. Second edition. University Press of Colorado, Boulder. xxvi + 484 pp.
  20. Hulse, A. C. 1985. Home range size in <i>Holbrookia maculata</i> (Iguanidae) from southeastern Arizona. Southwest. Nat. 30: 608-610.
  21. Jones, S. M., and D. L. Droge. 1980. Home range size and spatial distributions of two sympatric lizard species (Sceloporus undulatus, Holbrookia maculata) in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Herpetologica 36:127-132.
  22. Mulcahy, D. G., R. Ibáñez, C. A. Jaramillo, A. J. Crawford, J. M. Ray, S. W. Gotte, J. F. Jacobs, A. H. Wynn, G. P. Gonzalez-Porter, R. W. McDiarmid, R. I. Crombie, G. R. Zug, and K. de Queiroz. 2022. DNA barcoding of the National Museum of Natural History reptile tissue holdings raises concerns about the use of natural history collections and the responsibilities of scientists in the molecular age. PLoS ONE 17(3:e0264930. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0264930
  23. Rosenblum, E. B., and L. J. Harmon. 2010. "Same same but different": replicated ecological speciation at White Sands. Evolution 65:946-960.
  24. Smith, H. M. 1946. Handbook of lizards. Lizards of the United States and Canada. Cornell univ. Press, Ithaca. xxi + 557 pp.
  25. Stebbins, R. C. 1985a. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. xiv + 336 pp.
  26. Stebbins, R. C. 2003. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
  27. Wilgenbusch, J., and K. de Queiroz. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships among the phrynosomatid sand lizards inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences generated by heterogeneous evolutionary processes. Systematic Biology 49:592-612.