evolutionary advantage desert horned lizards developed larger stomachs to allow them to consume larger concentrations of ants. When they find an area of soft sand, they usually shake themselves vigorously, throwing sand over their backs and leaving only their head exposed. This allows them to hide from predators and await their unsuspecting prey. Habitat Found in extremely diverse habitats. The flat-tailed horned lizard occurs in areas of fine sand, while the short-horned lizard (P. douglasii) is found in shortgrass prairie all the way up into spruce-fir forest. The most common species in the Arizona Upland subdivision is the regal horned lizard (P. solare), which frequents rocky or gravelly habitats of arid to semiarid plains, hills and lower mountain slopes. The desert horned lizard (P. platyrhinos) is found mostly in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. It can be found in southeastern Oregon, California, western Arizona Utah, Idaho and Nevada. Outside of the United States it is found in Mexico, northwestern Sonora, and northeastern Baja California. They have a preference for places that they can find shrub covering with an understory. Phrynosoma platyrhinos will often bury themselves in sand soil, if possible, or they will live in burrows that were constructed by other animals. Geographic range and subspecies They typically range from southern Idaho in the north to northern Mexico in the south. These lizards can generally be found in areas with desert climates throughout western North America. Changes in the environment due to climate change can trigger shifts in the geographic ranges of animals. Phrynosoma platyrhinos has experienced some changes after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) which ended approximately 21,000 years ago. The end of the LGM resulted in the expansion of deserts throughout western North America, and with that expansion Phrynsoma platyrhinos had more areas suitable for them to live in. At the end of the LGM P. platyrhinos was able to expand north into the Great Basin, which is now part of their current geographical range. There are two subspecies which are found in a different geographic ranges: the northern desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos platyrhinos) ranging in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, the Colorado front range, and parts of southeastern Oregon; and the southern desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum) ranging in southern Utah and Nevada to southeast California, western Arizona, and northern Baja California. Behavior They are generally a gentle species, but have been known to try to