Editing Horned lizard (section)

{{short description|Genus of reptiles}}
{{about|the North American horned lizard|the Australian horned lizard|thorny devil}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Horned lizard
| image = Horned lizard 032507 kdh.jpg
| image_caption = [[Regal Horned Lizard|Regal horned lizard]]
| taxon = Phrynosoma
| authority = [[Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann|Wiegmann]], 1828
| type_species = ''[[Phrynosoma orbiculare|Lacerta orbiculare]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
}}
'''''Phrynosoma''''', whose members are known as the '''horned lizards''', '''horny toads''', or '''horntoads''', is a [[genus]] of North American [[lizard]]s and the [[type genus]] of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Phrynosomatidae]]. Their [[common name]]s refer directly to their horns or to their flattened, rounded bodies (squat bodied), and blunt snouts.

The [[Genus|generic name]] ''Phrynosoma'' means "toad-bodied". In common with true toads ([[amphibian]]s of the family [[Bufonidae]]), horned lizards tend to move sluggishly, often remain motionless, and rely on their remarkable camouflage to avoid detection by predators.  They are adapted to arid or semiarid areas. The spines on the lizard's back and sides are modified [[reptile scale]]s, which prevent water loss through the skin, whereas the horns on the head are true horns (i.e., they have a bony core). A [[Bladder#Reptiles|urinary bladder]] is absent.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=75h9DwAAQBAJ&dq=Squamata+Sauria+kidneys+bladder&pg=PA624 Mader's Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery]</ref> Of the 21 species of horned lizards, 15 are native to the USA. The largest-bodied and most widely distributed of the American species is the [[Texas horned lizard]].