Ol' Rip the Horned Toad returned to the courthouse. Some speculated that the body in the coffin was a substitute, with the real lizard being held in a private collection. Looney Tunes character, Michigan J. Frog was inspired by Ol' Rip's story. Ol' Rip the Horned Toad Ol' Rip (died January 19, 1929) was a horned lizard (commonly referred to as a "horned toad" or "horny toad") whose supposed 31-year hibernation as an entombed animal is believed by some and doubted by others. His name is a reference to the fictional character Rip Van Winkle. In 1897, a horned lizard was placed in a cornerstone
Boettger's horned toad Tadpoles are in length. Boettger's horned toad Boettger's horned toad, Boettger's spadefoot toad, or pale-shouldered horned toad (Xenophrys boettgeri), is a species of toad found in southern and southeastern China (the northern border runs roughly from Sichuan in the west to Shanxi in the north and Zhejiang in the east) and northeastern India (Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Assam). A closely related but probably as yet undescribed species in found in Tibet. It is not certain that the Indian specimens belong to "Xenophrys boettgeri" either. The history of this species' discovery is highly international. It was described by George Albert Boulenger,