What is this animal?

[Frantic Freddie]

I took these yesterday:





I know what it is, I wanna see if anybody recognizes it

[OscarW]

My guess would be a Texas Horned Lizard but I can't quite see its tail to be sure.

[Frantic Freddie]

Oscar, you done got it, except it's in New Mexico

The slang term is "horney toads" , they're harmless, their main diet is ants.

Weird story: I was hiking in the canyon behind us & came upon a horney toad. No big deal normally except for this one's color: it was black, with yellow spikes. I very gently caught him & looked at his belly & it was yellow-orange.

This was just before digital cameras (yes, I'm old, so there ) so I don't have a pic & yes, I put him back right where he was.

I haven't seen one in a few years, I hope this is a good sign.

Of course it could mean that the rattlesnake population is going up.

[OscarW]

Apparently there are 3 kinds of horned lizards in New Mexico, including the Texan.

http://wildlife.state.nm.us/education/wildlife_notes/documents/texashornedlizard.pdf