And Horns on the Toads Page: 4
238 p. ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
AND HORNS ON THE TOADS
is unique among animals. In the tangled jargon of reports by
zoologists, biologists, and herpetologists are amazing facts
which reveal that no one need apologize for telling tales about
homed toads. Some of them are true.
First, the facts. The homed toad or homed frog, called
Phrynosoma by scientists, is not a toad, but a lizard of the
Iguanidae family, kin to the homed lizards of South America.2
The homed toad is a North American genus of twenty-odd
species and subspecies, fourteen of which are found in western
and southwestern United States; others are limited to northern
Mexico and Lower California. Considerable variety of physical
characteristics and habits exists within the family; the species
known as the Texas Horned Toad, for instance, lays eggs as
most lizards do; other species give birth to their young. A
limited subspecies is found only in extreme West Texas.
Living in a habitat of arid to semiarid climate, the homed
toad feeds on ants, beetles, flies, and small insects, though it
prefers red ants and will lick them up avidly with a toadlike
flick of the tongue until completely gorged. With a throat and
stomach immune to the sting of red ants, the homed toad of
some species is, strangely, vulnerable to ant stings on other
parts of its body. It cannot live without water, which it obtains
in the form of dew, and in captivity has been observed to lap
up greedily quantities of it. A cold-blooded, hibernating
animal, the homed toad is limited in activity by temperature.
It is, for example, most active in the heat of noon when it
scurries over the blistering sand in search of food. By the
middle of the afternoon, it searches out a bed of sand and
buries itself for the night. On the broiling sand it flattens its
body, wiggles vigorously until it is covered over with sand, and
there it rests until the heat of the morning sun brings it out
again. Below seventy degrees it becomes sluggish and will not
eat; consequently, it dies quickly in captivity-it literally starves
to death-unless its nest of sand is heated.
The self-burial technique of the homed toad is used in the
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
And Horns on the Toads (Book)
Volume of folk stories and tall tales about the horned toad and other Texas folklore. The index begins on page 235.
Relationship to this item: (Has Format)
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Boatright, Mody Coggin. And Horns on the Toads, book, 1959; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc38856/m1/17/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Press.