Greater Short-horned Lizard

Lewis and Clark encountered the short-horned lizard (which they called “horned toad” or “horned lizard”) in present-day Missouri as early as May 1804. One specimen was collected and sent back to President Jefferson with other natural history specimens on the keelboat in April 1805. This small, flat-bodied lizard with crown-like horns on its head was new to science and fascinated naturalists in the East.

Journal Excerpt

Lewis, May 29, 1806: "a speceis of Lizzard called by the French engages prarie buffaloe are native of these plains as well as of those of the Missouri. I have called them the horned Lizzard… their bellies are broader, the tail shorter and their action much slower; they crawl much like the toad."