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Self Defense Mechanisms of the Short Horned Lizard
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Original Wild Facts, Reptiles

Wild Fact #918 – Look Deep into my Eyes – Short Horned Lizard

Photograph courtesy Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Photograph courtesy Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Yesterday we discussed an animal that will actually blow itself up to prevent predators from harming their colony.  If you didn’t get a chance to read it yet then I recommend checking it out here. Don’t get me wrong, that is a pretty fascinating defense mechanism but I think today’s animal is even more unique.

The short horned lizard can be found in deserts from North to Central America. Because of their rounded shaped they are often referred to as the horny toad or horned toad but in reality are actually a lizard.  Even though the short horned lizard appears to be well protected by all of their spikes they tend to have numerous predators.  Animals such as coyotes, snakes, roadrunners (beep beep), hawks, lizards and dogs all feast on these little lizards. So how can the short horned lizard ward off such large predators? Well, they have several strategies depending on the risk level. First and foremost the colour of their skin allows them to blend in very well to their environment.  Let’s face it, if you can’t be found then it will be tough for you to be eaten. The next two adaptations are a lot more fun and exciting. So if they are spotted and need to defend against a predator the lizard is able to inflate it’s body to twice it’s size.  This makes the lizard look like a big spiny balloon. If this technique fails to thwart the attempts of their attacker then they will employ the ultimate strategy.  You sitting down?  Some species of horned lizards are able to direct a stream of blood from their eyes to distract the threat while they make their getaway.  They are able to do this by rupturing tiny blood vessels in their eyelids.  Besides confusing the predator the blood contains a chemical that is noxious for dogs, coyotes and wolves.  Unfortunately this strategy does not work well on the flying threats.

Short Horned Lizard Fast Fact: The short horned lizard is able to squirt blood from their eyes up to a distance of 1 m (3 feet).

8 Comments

  1. When I was growing up in the San Fernando Valley, in Southern California, these little guys were all over, along with their even more numerous brothers-in-lizardkind, the alligator lizard. I loved catching (then releasing) them. You can’t find them anywhere now – all the washes and empty lots where I used to find them are built on. 🙁

    1. I am always impressed when readers have experience with some of these bizarre creatures. That is pretty cool that you had the opportunity to see some of these lizards. It is too bad that urban development is replacing natural habitat. This is a problem all over the world. I just hope the Government planning process takes into account the necessary habitat features for all animals.

      Thanks for sharing your story!

  2. BTW, I should add that the kids used to tell each other about horny toads shooting blood out of their eyes, but I always thought it was a myth! (I didn’t believe in the Easter Bunny either – I was a born skeptic, LOL!) Until I read your post, I had no idea it was actually true.

    1. A born skeptic, eh! Well, I am glad I could shed some light onto the horned lizard for you. Wait for my next post on the Easter Bunny. Okay, so I don`t have a post for the Easter Bunny….yet!

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