This quick decline led the state to declare the Texas horned lizard a threatened species in 1977. It is also listed as a Species of Concern by the federal government. Texas horned lizards have been called horned toads or horned frogs, but they are, in fact, lizards. Toads and frogs are tailless amphibians that live in land or water. Toads have rough, warty skin and frogs have smooth skin.
Horned lizards are reptiles with tails and a scaled body.
There are currently 13 species of horned lizards, three of which are found in Texas. Adult Texas horned lizards range in length from three to five inches, excluding their tails. Today, Texas horned lizards are found in the southeastern tip of Arizona and Colorado, southern and eastern New Mexico, most of Kansas and Texas and all of Oklahoma. They are apparently doing well throughout most of their range except in Texas. Unfortunately, the exact cause or causes of the Texas horned lizard decline are not known.