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Wildlife Afield
Terres, J.K. 1980. The Audubon Society
encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A.
Knopf, New York, NY. 1,109 pp.
Tobish, T. 2004. Regional reports. The nesting
season: Alaska. North American Birds 58:583-586.
_____. 2005. Regional reports. Fall migration:
Alaska. North American Birds 59:129-132.
Trochlell, D. 2004. Regional reports. Spring
migration: Idaho and Western Montana. North
American Birds 58:403-404.
About the Authors
Michael was born in Vancouver, British
Columbia, at a time when the Crested Myna was
a common bird in the family yard. A boyhood
yearning to identify it ignited an everlasting passion
for birds. A pelagic trip off Westport, Washington
in 1974 introduced him to the charismatic birds
of the open ocean. Since 1990 he has worked as a
seabird and marine mammal observer on a variety of
oceanographic and fisheries research vessels, having
logged more than 2,500 days at sea in most of the
major oceans of the world.
Ken is a pelagic seabird biologist with Environment
Canada. The main focus of his work entails at-sea
monitoring of seabirds off the west coast of Canada
and identifying the oceanographic conditions that
control the composition, distribution and abundance
of the pelagic seabird community, and assessing
the conservation threats of the incidental take of
seabirds in commercial fishing gear and mortalities
caused by chronic oil pollution.
Jukka is an experienced naturalist and committed
birder who conducts bird surveys and assists with
bird banding operations in the province.
A NOTEWORTHY RECORD OF THE PIGMY
SHORT-HORNED LIZARD (PHRYNOSOMA
DOUGLASII) FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA
Glenn R. Ryder¹, R. Wayne Campbell², and G.
Lawrence Powell³
¹ Lions Grove Estates, #302, 2888-273 Street,
Aldergrove, BC. V4W 3M6
² 2511 Kilgary Place, Victoria, BC. V8N 1J6
³ Department of Biological Sciences, The University
of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary,
AB. T2N 1N4
The Pigmy Short-horned Lizard (Phrynosoma
douglasii) occurs only in northwestern North
America, its contiguous range stretching from extreme
southern Canada (south-central British Columbia)
south into central and eastern Washington, central
and southeastern Oregon, northeastern California,
northwestern Nevada, and is found locally in northern
Idaho (Cook 1984, St. John 2002). Within this range
it frequents a variety of habitats from sagebrush
rangelands and bunchgrass plains to open juniper
and pine woodlands. Nussbaum et al. (1983), Cook
(1984), Gregory and Campbell (1984) and Matsuda
et al. (2006) provide information on the distribution
and natural history of the Pigmy Short-horned Lizard
in British Columbia; Zamudio et al. (1997) review
the taxonomic status of Phrynosoma douglassii (of
which the present P. douglasii was a subspecies; it
is now considered to be a distinct species, the other
subspecies of the former P. douglassii being grouped
together as the Greater Short-horned Lizard, P.
hernandesi).
The Pigmy Short-horned Lizard was added to the
herpetofauna of British Columbia on the basis of two
specimens collected at Osoyoos by Charles DeBlois
Green in approximately 1898 (Fannin 1898). These
specimens (catalogue numbers 323 and 324) are
deposited in the Royal British Columbia Museum in
Victoria, British Columbia.
Mr. Green moved to the Okanagan valley from
England, and after a short period in the West Kootenay
region of British Columbia in the early 1890s, lived
11
“Happy is the man whose lot it is to know the
secrets of the earth.”
Euripides
close to the northern end of Osoyoos Lake (Brooks
1930). He spent much of his time surveying mining
claims for prospectors in the mountains to the east
and west, all the while keenly observing the local
butterflies, birds, and mammals. Charles became
interested in collecting birds’ eggs and this activity
soon became his “absorbing” hobby. He also
collected a few mammals, amphibians, and reptiles,
and deposited these in museums, but these animals
were collected incidentally, and with less interest and
documentation, than birds. This probably accounts
for the incomplete details of the Pigmy Short-horned
Lizard documentation (such as the uncertainty of
the actual date of collection) published by Fannin
(1898). In 1919 Green moved to the Keremeos area,
where he went into sheep farming until his death in
1929 (Brooks 1930).
Powell and Russell (1998) have summarized the
historical status of the Pigmy Short-horned Lizard
in British Columbia. Specific details, however, still
remain confused and sketchy regarding records
for the province. The specimens collected by Mr.
Green have been cited in at least 74 major books,
scientific papers, reports, and checklists in the Pacific
Northwest through 1984 (see Campbell et al. 1982,
Gregory and Campbell 1984, Matsuda et al. 2006)
without confirmation of subsequent collections or
sightings. An apparently valid record in 1937, again
from the Osoyoos region, is without specific details
(Powell and Russell 1998).
There have been anecdotal reports of “lizards”
over the past two decades from the vicinity of
Osoyoos, Richter Pass, Cawston, and Keremeos but
none have been substantiated (Powell and Russell
1998). In August 1991, a thorough 10-day search of
“all the suitable undisturbed habitat” along the east
side of Osoyoos Lake (the suspected origin of the
1898 specimens) was completed without finding
a horned lizard (Powell and Russell 1991, 1998).
In addition, the authors have frequently searched
for Pigmy Short-horned Lizards in the southern
Okanagan valley over the past 40 years without
success.
The purpose of this note is to put on record an
observation made northeast of Osoyoos, British
Columbia, during the summer of 1957.
On 22 June 1957, while he was searching for
Indian artifacts on the ground and under rocks along
the east shoreline of Osoyoos Lake, and generally
observing wildlife, Glen R. Ruder discovered a
Pigmy Short-horned Lizard. The following notes,
summarized from two pages in the field notebook of
Mr. Ryder, read:
[Pygmy Horned Lizard,: found under a large, flat
stone, which had an entrance hole under one side.
On carefully lifting it up there was a lizard, a neat
little fellow, some 4+ inches in length and covered
mostly all over in small spines. This lizard is rather
fat-looking. The overall colour was gray with black,
dark markings.] “... a very interesting animal when
it is the first time one sees it. At this stage I wished I
owned a camera but I don’t so I did a rough sketch].”
(Figure 1).
This observation is the first for British Columbia
with full details. The exact site where the horned
lizard was found was situated about one-third of
the way along the east shore of Osoyoos Lake
north of the town of Osoyoos and 300 m from the
lakeshore. The area falls within the Ponderosa Pine –
Bunchgrass biogeoclimatic zone (Farley 1979). The
immediate habitat was characterized by a relatively
open, dry and sandy soil surface with some cover
of big sagebrush (Artemesia tidentata) interspersed
with grasses (e.g., Stipa sp.). Small rock piles dotted
the area.
There are persistent reports, especially by First
Nations people living and working along the east
shore of Osoyoos Lake, that “small lizards” are
still present (D. Brown pers. comm.). Caution is
warranted, however, as some of these sightings
may refer to Western Skink (Eumeces skiltonianus),
Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea), or in
some cases, Barred Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma
mavortium). Access to the area is restricted and over
the past five years vineyards have been established,
reducing the habitat available for horned lizards. The
general consensus among herpetologists is that this
isolated peripheral population of the Pigmy Short-
horned Lizard is extirpated from British Columbia
(Powell and Russell 1991, Matsuda et al. 2006).
Literature Cited
Brooks, A. 1930. In memorium: Charles deB.
Green. Condor 31:9-11.
3:1 June 2006 12
Wildlife Afield 13
Campbell, R.W., M.G. Shepard, B.M. Van
Der Raay, and P.T. Gregory. 1982. A bibliography
of Pacific Northwest herpetology. British Columbia
Provincial Museum Heritage Record No. 14, Victoria,
BC. 152 pp.
Cook, F.R. 1984. Introduction to Canadian
amphibians and reptiles. National Museum of Natural
Sciences National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, ON.
200 pp.
Fannin, J. 1898. A preliminary catalogue of the
collections on natural history and ethnology in the
Provincial Museum, Victoria, British Columbia.
British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria, BC.
196 pp.
Figure 1. Field drawing by Glenn R. Ryder of a Pigmy Short-horned Lizard found at Osoyoos Lake, BC. 22
June 1957. BC Photo 3288.
3:1 June 2006 14
Farley, A.L. 1979. Atlas of British Columbia.
University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver,
BC. 136 pp.
Gregory, P.T., and R.W. Campbell. 1984.
The reptiles of British Columbia. British Columbia
Provincial Museum Handbook No. 44, Victoria, BC.
103 pp.
Matsuda, B.M., D.M. Green, and P.T. Gregory.
2006. Amphibians and reptiles of British Columbia.
Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook,
Victoria, BC. 266 pp.
Nussbaum, R.A., E.D. Brodie. Jr., and R.M.
Storm. 1983. Amphibians and reptiles of the Pacific
Northwest. The University Press of Idaho, Moscow,
ID. 332 pp.
Powell, G.L., and A.P. Russell. 1991. Report on
the 1991 search for the Pigmy Short-horned Lizard
(Phrynosoma douglassii douglassii) in the region
of Osoyoos, British Columbia. British Columbia
Ministry of Environment Report, Victoria, BC.
_____., and _____. 1998. The status of Short-
horned Lizards, Phrynosoma douglasi and P.
hernandezi, in Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist
112:1-16.
St. John, A. 2002. Reptiles of the Pacific
Northwest – British Columbia to California. Lone
Pine Publishing, Edmonton, AB. 272 pp.
Zamudio, K.R., K.B. Jones, and R.H. Ward.
1997. Molecular systematics of Short-horned Lizards:
biogeography and taxonomy of a widespread species
complex. Systematic Biology 46:284-305.
About the Authors
Glenn lives in the Fraser River valley and is a
seasoned field naturalist who meticulously records
natural history on all forms of wildlife, often
accompanied by detailed sketches.
Wayne has authored books, scientific papers, and
popular articles on amphibians and reptiles in British
Columbia.
Larry is a lecturer and research associate at the
University of Calgary, and has investigated various
aspects of Greater Short-horned Lizard ecology in
Alberta.
CACTUS TRAPS CALIFORNIA MYOTIS IN
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Christian W. Gronau
Swamp’s Edge, Whaletown, BC. V0P 1Z0
Even at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia,
British Columbia, summers can be hot and dry. It is
a season when taking your cactus off the windowsill
and putting it outside on the porch seems like a good
idea. The cactus in this story was placed close to a
south-facing wall of the main building of the Loon
Ranch on Cortes Island. The cactus plant was about
23 cm in height (Figure 1).
Figure 1. California Myotis trapped on a potted
cactus plant on Cortes Island, BC. 28 August 1998
(Christian W. Gronau). BC Photo 3264.
