Movement, Home Range, and Activity Patterns of the Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma Mcallii

• Published in: Journal of herpetology 2003-12, Vol.37 (4), p.679-686
• Main Authors: Wone, B, Beauchamp, B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0022-1511
• DOI: 10.1043/0022-1511(2003)037<0679:MHRAAP>2.0.CO;2

Sixty-nine telemetered Phrynosoma mcallii from the Colorado Desert in California were relocated for up to nine months to examine activity patterns, home-range sizes and overlap, distance traveled between relocations, and onset and duration of hibernation. Total area used by the lizards ranged from 651-59,237 m2. Males had significantly larger mean summer home ranges and traveled significantly further than females. The duration of winter dormancy for eight telemetered lizards was 85 A- 8 (mean A- SE) days. Nearly all telemetered lizards were underground by mid-November and emerged as early as late December. Telemetered P. mcallii were out in the open or underneath a shrub throughout the day during spring and fall. They retreated into burrows to escape the midday summer heat. When out in the open, males perched on an elevated surface 19.0% of the time, whereas females perched 4.3%. Telemetered lizards exhibited considerable overlap among their home ranges; males shared 11% of their home ranges with females, whereas females shared 42% of their home ranges with males.