reptiles

Cophosaurus texanus

Greater Earless Lizard

Authorship: Troschel

Description & Notes

it is the most abundant lizard on IMRS, and is known for death feigning.

Collection Information

Field Number

[Axtell, 1991, Couvillon, 2011a, b, Franco, 2015, Mata-Silva et al., 2006, 2010, 2011]

Records

it was observed in several locations, including IMRS HQ and Echo Spring area (J.D. Johnson, UTEP).

Recent Observations

Sourced from iNaturalist

IMRS Observation

csteinbronn8

Jun 29, 2026

South Guest Ranch Road, Fort Hancock, TX, US

Hudspeth County, TX, USA

Taxonomic Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata(Chordates)

Subphylum

VERTEBRATA(Vertebrates)

Class

Reptilia(Reptiles)

Order

Squamata(Lizards and Snakes)

Suborder

Lacertilia(Lizards)

Family

PHRYNOSOMATIDAE(Earless, Horned, Side-blotched, Spiny, and Tree Lizard Family)

Genus

Cophosaurus

Species

texanus

Species Status

Conservation assessments from the following sources:

NatureServe Explorer
IUCN Red List
Texas Parks & Wildlife — Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)

IUCN Red List

LCLeast Concern

NatureServe Global

G5Secure

NatureServe (Texas)

S5Secure

Research & Publications

Theses, papers, and notes featuring this species.

Population genetics of two sympatric species, the Round-tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum) and the Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus), in the Indio Mountains of west Texas.

Horne, L. M. · 2022 · Thesis

Ecological features of the greater earless lizard, Cophosaurus texanus, (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) on Indio mountains research station, Hudspeth County, Texas.

Franco, G. R. · 2015 · Thesis

Cophosaurus texanus (Greater Earless Lizard). Multiple tails.

Mata-Silva, V., A. Rocha, A. Gandara, and J. D. Johnson · 2010 · Herpetological Review 41(3): 352–353 · Natural History Note

Cophosaurus texanus (Greater Earless Lizard). Mortality.

Mata-Silva, V., J. D. Johnson, and A. Juárez-Reina · 2006 · Herpetological Review 37(4): 464 · Natural History Note