View source for Holbrookia

{{Short description|Genus of lizards}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2024}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = ''Holbrookia''
| image = Earless Lizard in WSNM.jpg
| taxon = Holbrookia
| authority = [[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard]], 1851
}}
[[File:Holbrookia propinqua, keeled earless lizard, Tamaulipas.jpg|thumb|Keeled earless lizard (''Holbrookia propinqua'') female, municipality of Soto La Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico (20 May 2002).]]
'''''Holbrookia''''' is a [[genus]] of [[earless lizard]]s, known commonly as the '''lesser earless lizards''', in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Phrynosomatidae]]. The genus contains six recognized [[species]], which are found throughout the [[Southwestern United States|Southwestern]] and [[Central United States]] and northern [[Mexico]]. They are characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent soil from entering their bodies when they are digging.
==Etymology==
The [[Genus|generic]] name, ''Holbrookia'', is in honor of [[Americans|American]] [[Zoology|zoologist]] [[John Edwards Holbrook]].<ref>Beltz, Ellin (2006). Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained. [http://ebeltz.net/herps/biogappx.html]</ref><ref>[[species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]]; [[species:Michael Watkins|Watkins, Michael]]; [[species:Michael Grayson|Grayson, Michael]] (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. {{ISBN|978-1-4214-0135-5}}. (''Holbrookia'', p. 125).</ref>
==Description==
Lesser earless lizards grow to about 2.0–2.5 in (50–65&nbsp;mm) [[Snout–vent length|snout-to-vent length]] (SVL), plus a tail of 3–4 in (75–100&nbsp;mm). They are typically grey or tan in color, with black blotching. The males usually have blue patches on either side of their bellies, whereas the females do not. Females often change to have bright orange patches when [[gravid]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
==Behavior==
''Holbrookia'' species are [[Diurnal animal|diurnal]], [[sunning (behaviour)|basking]] [[lizard]]s. They spend the vast majority of their time sunning on rocks, even in the heat of the day, until the surface temperature reaches around 104&nbsp;°F (40&nbsp;°C), when they will retreat to a rock crevice or burrow.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
==Diet==
Lesser earless lizards are [[insectivore|insectivorous]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
==Species==
The genus ''Holbrookia'' contains six species which are recognized as being valid.<ref>{{EMBL genus|genus=Holbrookia}} www.reptile-database.org.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific Name !! Common Name !! Distribution
|-
| ||''[[Holbrookia maculata approximans|Holbrookia approximans]]'' <br>{{small|[[Spencer Fullerton Baird|Baird]], 1859}} || speckled earless lizard || Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
|-
|[[File:LIZARD, ELEGANT EARLESS (Holbrookia elegans) (9-24-12) california gulch, pajarito mts, scc, az -01 (8024040182).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Holbrookia elegans]]'' <br>{{small|[[Marie Firmin Bocourt|Bocourt]], 1874}} || elegant earless lizard || United States and Mexico
|-
| ||''[[Holbrookia lacerata]]'' <br>{{small|[[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1880}} || northern spot-tailed earless lizard || Mexico, in the states of [[Coahuila]], [[Nuevo León]], and [[Tamaulipas]], and to the United States, in south-central Texas.
|-
|[[File:Holbrookia maculata - Flickr - aspidoscelis (5).jpg|120px]] ||''[[Holbrookia maculata]]'' <br>{{small|[[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard]], 1851}} || lesser earless lizard ||United States and northern Mexico
|-
|[[File:Holbrookia propinqua, male, Padre Island National Seashore, Kleberg Co. TX; 2 Nov 2022.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Holbrookia propinqua]]'' <br>{{small|Baird & Girard, 1852}} || keeled earless lizard ||Southern Texas and northeast Mexico
|-
| ||''[[Holbrookia subcaudalis]]'' <br>{{small|[[species:Ralph William Axtell|Axtell]], 1956}} || southern spot-tailed earless lizard || Mexico and the United States in southern Texas.
|-
|}
==Geographic range==
Earless lizards (genera ''Cophosaurus'' and ''Holbrookia'') are found in the Southwestern and Central United States, in [[Texas]], [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], [[Utah]], [[Colorado]], [[Kansas]], [[Oklahoma]], and as far north as [[Nebraska]], [[South Dakota]], and [[Wyoming]]. They are also found in [[Mexico]], in the states of [[Sonora]], [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], [[Coahuila]], [[Sinaloa]], [[Durango]], [[Zacatecas]], [[San Luis Potosí]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Tamaulipas]], and [[Veracruz]].{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
==See also==
*Genus ''[[Cophosaurus]]'', the greater earless lizard
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://coloherps.org/reference/species/SpeHoma.htm Colorado Herpetological Society: Lesser earless lizard]
==Further reading==
*[[Charles Frédéric Girard|Girard C]] (1851). "On a New American Saurian Reptile". ''Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, New Haven'' '''4''': 200–202. (''Holbrookia'', new genus, pp.&nbsp;200–201; ''H. maculata'', new species, pp.&nbsp;201–202).
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2707849}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Holbrookia| ]]
[[Category:Lizard genera]]
[[Category:Lizards of North America]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Mexico]]
[[Category:Reptiles of the United States]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edwards Holbrook]]<!--directly honors-->
{{lizard-stub}}