The genus contains six recognized species, which are found throughout the Southwestern and Central United States and northern Mexico.

They are characterized by having no external ear openings, presumably to prevent soil from entering their bodies when they are digging.

The generic name, Holbrookia, is in honor of American zoologist John Edwards Holbrook.

[3] Earless lizards (genera Cophosaurus and Holbrookia) are found in the Southwestern and Central United States, in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and as far north as Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

They are also found in Mexico, in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz.