DALLAS, TX (KXAN) – There’s a lot riding on the future of six tiny Texas icons at the Dallas Zoo.
Texas horned lizards – also known as horny toads – are disappearing across the state, the zoo says, with populations vanishing from East and Central Texas.
With six news babies this season, the zoo says each new hatch is a big deal for the threatened species and state reptile. When hatched, they weigh less than a dime. Dallas Zoo says each lizard has a spot on its belly that serves as a unique fingerprint.
The zoo’s team is working on a preserve in West Texas for their seventh season of learning as much as possible about the horned lizard’s life history.