280 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



skin at once as snakes do, but scale off gradually. 

 Since the skin consists of continuous layers, it 

 loosens in patches of various sizes and either 

 drops of its own accord or is rubbed off by the 

 animal's ordinary movements. The cartilagi- 

 nous caps covering the horns are shed in one 

 piece. 



The desert horned lizard inhabits all the hot 

 arid low-plain environments of the Great Basin 

 and Salton Sink, occurring as far east as west- 

 ern Utah. In the extreme southwestern limits 

 of its range it is associated with the flat-tailed 

 horned lizard (Anota macalli Hallowell). The 

 horned toad of the Pacific Slope is a distinct 

 species. 



