[2] The specific name, hernandesi, honors Francisco Hernández (1514–1587) a Spanish physician who wrote an early account of a horned lizard, which was published in 1615.

[3][4] The greater short-horned lizard is often mistaken for its close relative the pygmy short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii), which has the same basic body type consisting of small pointed scales around the head and back.

They are now considered distinct species with the pygmy short-horned lizard (P. douglasii) occupying the northwest portion of the United States and extreme southern British Columbia.

The color is gray, yellowish, or reddish-brown, and there are two rows of large dark spots on the back.

The adult male dermatocranial shape resembles that to be expected of a subadult female of the same body size.

[7] Typically, greater short-horned lizards will remain as still as possible when a predator is nearby, attempting to blend in with the environment.

[12][13] The greater short-horned lizard occupies habitats from semiarid plains to high elevations in the mountains.

This species is frequently found in a wide range of habitats like shortgrass prairies, sagebrush deserts, and juniper, pine, or fir forests.