Holbrookia propinqua

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata Episquamata Toxicofera
Subordo: Iguania
Infraordo: Pleurodonta

Familia: Phrynosomatidae
Subfamilia: Phrynosomatinae
Genus: Holbrookia
Species: Holbrookia propinqua
Subspecies (3): H. p. piperata – H. p. propinqua –H. p. stonei
Name

Holbrookia propinqua Baird & Girard, 1852: 126

Lectotype: USNM 2671a, adult ♂, collected by John H. Clark in late April or early May 1851. [designated by Axtell (1981: 211)]
Type locality: “Between Indianola and San Antonio (Texas)”, restricted to “9 miles southwest of Somerset, Atascosa County”, Texas, by Smith & Taylor (1950: 85), restriction contested and changed to “the area within a circle, with a 12 Km diameter, centered at coordinates 29º16'20"N-98º09'50"” by Axtell (1981: 213).

References
Primary references

Baird, S.F. & Girard, C. 1852. Characteristics of some new reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Second Part. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 6: 125–129. BHL Reference page.
Axtell, R.W. 1981. Holbrookia propinqua: Type specimens, collector, his route, and restriction of locality, with comments on Baird's "Reptiles of the Boundary" as an important taxonomic reference. Journal of Herpetology 15(2): 211–217. DOI: 10.2307/1563383

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Holbrookia propinqua. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 16 October 2019.
Hammerson, G.A., Lavin, P. & Mendoza Quijano, F. 2007. IUCN: Holbrookia propinqua (Least Concern). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2007: e.T64066A12733768. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T64066A12733768.en

Vernacular names
English: Keeled Earless Lizard

Holbrookia propinqua (keeled earless lizard) is a species of phrynosomatid lizard.
Keeled earless lizard (Holbrookia propinqua) female, municipality of Soto La Marina, Tamaulipas, Mexico (20 May 2002).

Description

The dorsal scales are small, pointed, and keeled, as the common name implies. The lateral scales are similar but smaller. The ventral scales, which are flat and smooth, are 3-4 times larger than the dorsal scales. Adults may attain 62 mm (2+1⁄2 in) snout to vent length (SVL), 140 mm (5+1⁄2 in) total length.[1]
Geographic range and habitat

Holbrookia propinqua occurs in the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion where it is known from various vegetation zones in south Texas, including mixed oak forest, mesquite brush-lands, cleared fields, coastal prairie, and grasslands, although always where bands of Tertiary sand outcrops or sandy stream-side deposits are found. It is perhaps most common in the loose and shifting sands of beaches, barrier islands, and the Coastal Sand Plain of Southern Texas. It also ranges into northeast Mexico but it is highly restricted to the narrow zone of sand dunes of the coastal beaches, peninsulas, and barrier islands of Tamaulipas and southward to the vicinity of Veracruz, Veracruz.[2][3]
Subspecies

There are three recognized subspecies of Holbrookia propinqua:

northern keeled earless lizard, Holbrookia propinqua propinqua Baird & Girard, 1852
southern keeled earless lizard, Holbrookia propinqua piperata H.M. Smith & Burger, 1950
Stone's keeled earless lizard, Holbrookia propinqua stonei Harper, 1932

References

Smith, H.M. and E.D. Brodie, Jr. 1982. Reptiles of North America, A Guide to Field Identification. Golden Press. New York. pp. 128-129.
Axtell, Ralph W. 1983. Holbrookia propinqua. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 341:1-2 pp.

Axtell, Ralph W. 1998. Holbrookia propinqua. Interpretive Atlas of Texas Lizards, No. 19. Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Edwardsville, Illinois. 1-14 pp.

Species Holbrookia propinqua at The Reptile Database

Holbrookia propinqua Baird & Girard, 1852
Published in: Baird, S.F. and Girard,C. Characteristics of some new reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, part 2. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 6: 125-129. (1852).