Northwestern Short-horned Lizard Phrynosoma douglasii  (Bell, 1828)

Taxonomic Comments:

Hammerson and Smith (1991 Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 27(3): 121-127) demonstrated that douglasii is the correct spelling of this name. Zamudio et al. (1997 Systematic Biology 46(2): 284-305) considered this taxon to be composed of two species in the United States, P. douglasii and P. hernandesi, and recommended that no U.S. subspecies be recognized. Because they did not address the Mexican race, P. d. brachycercum, it remains a subspecies of P. hernandesi, and the U.S. populations should be called P. h. hernandesi. Collins & Taggart (2002 Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians. Fifth Edition) submitted for consideration the proposal by Zamudio et al. (1997 op. cit.) to a lizard systematist group composed of Kevin de Queiroz, Bradford Hollingsworth, Jimmy A. McGuire, Richard R. Montanucci, Robert Powell, Tod W. Reeder, Jack W. Sites, Jr., Robert C. Stebbins, James M. Walker, John J. Wiens, and Kelly Zamudio, and they agreed.