Pygmy short-horned lizard COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 9

Special Significance of the Species

Horned lizards have fascinated the public and scientists for centuries and made significant impressions on Aboriginal peoples within their ranges (e.g., Monaster 1997, Sherbrooke 2003). In Canada, their presence, or past presence, is a reminder of the vanishing arid ecosystem that is often touted as Canada’s only desert. If climate is a limiting factor then it is especially important to acknowledge that this was the species’ ecological limit and that its physiological and behavioural tolerances may have failed here. If global warming is occurring, then there may be continued opportunities for their expansion into Canada, providing the habitat is maintained. 

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