When I pored through the enticing pages of the excellent Amphibians & Reptiles of New Mexico, these li'l horned lizards were the animals I most wanted to find. Other than the recently-redefined Phrynosoma goodei, this was the last U.S. horned lizard species that I hadn't seen, and I do love them horned lizards.

I was thrilled to find my first round-tail in the desert while hiking not too far from our campground. When I came back to report to my wife and sister, I spooked up another one just a few feet from the campground's edge.

When in doubt, Round-tailed Horned Lizards tend to tuck themselves up and do their best rock impression, as seen in the first two photos here. Even when not in the tucked position, they are remarkably good at being overlooked.

A relatively lizard-deficient morning was redeemed when my wife saw this little fellow rushing across the trail on which we were hiking with our dogs. Later in the morning I met Stumpy the Texas Horned Lizard, and all was well with the world.