Prairie Rose Chapter

Meeting Monday August 22, Citizen Center in Glen Rose

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TEXAS HORNED LIZARD REINTRODUCTION

BY NATHAN RAINS
AUGUST 22, 6 p.m.
Glen Rose Citizen’s Center
209 SW Barnard St., Glen Rose

Remember playing with Texas Horned Lizards growing up? Perhaps you
remember them as “Horny Toads” which is what we all called them.
Unfortunately, they are now in serious trouble and are no longer found in their
former habitats.

A Texas horned lizard waits for prey in Southern New Mexico. (Photo by Nicole Harings)

Nathan Rains, Wildlife Diversity Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, will give a presentation on the Texas Horned Lizard and the research and reintroduction efforts from the last 15 years. He’ll cover the path this research took into the genetics,
translocation (moving lizards from one area to another distant one) and the breeding programs throughout the state.

NATHAN RAINS: Nathan Rains is a Wildlife Diversity Biologist with Texas Parks
and Wildlife department. He received a B.S. from Texas A&M in 1994 in Wildlife
biology and an M.S. from LSU in 1994. He then worked for the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for 2 years after grad school. He started
working with TPWD in 2000 and worked from 2000-2008 as a Wildlife biologist.
From 2008 to present he is working as a Wildlife Diversity Biologist

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: prairierose

About the Region

2026 Fall Symposium Logo

This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason