The San Diego horned lizard (Phrynosoma coronatum blainvillei) is named for the prominent horns displayed on the back of its head. This small, spiny lizard has a flat, wide body and uses its sandy, grayish-brown or reddish tones to camouflage into surrounding rocks and soil.

This California native species inhabits areas with loose, sandy soil that allows them to hide from predators. Habitats for this species include alluvial fan sage scrub, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, open grasslands, and open woodlands from the Transverse Ranges in Kern, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties southward through the Peninsular Ranges of southern California down to Baja California, Mexico.

This lizard will often bask in the sun to regulate its body temperature and will breed in the spring to produce anywhere from 6-16 eggs in the summer. Eggs will hatch after two months, and the young reach maturity after about two years. When threatened, the San Diego horned lizard can flatten their bodies, inflate themselves to appear larger, or in extreme cases, squirt blood from their eyes to startle predators.

Their diet consists of insects, but their preference is specifically for native harvester ants. As a California Species of Special Concern, populations are declining from habitat loss due to urban development, agriculture, and the spread of non-native ant species that displace their native ant food sources.

Thanks to the Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP), approximately 410,000 acres of suitable habitat are identified for conservation to support the San Diego horned lizard.