Tuesday, 28 January 2014

Horned lizards


Horned lizards
Horned lizards use a wide variety of means to avoid predation. Their coloration generally serves as camouflage. When threatened, their first defense is to remain still to avoid detection. If approached too closely, they generally run in short bursts and stop abruptly to confuse the predator's visual acuity.

If this fails, they puff up their bodies to cause them to appear more horned and larger, so more difficult to swallow. At least four species are also able to squirt an aimed stream of blood from the corners of the eyes for a distance of up to five feet. They do this by restricting the blood flow leaving the head, thereby increasing blood pressure and rupturing tiny vessels around the eyelids. This not only confuses predators, but also the blood tastes foul to canine and feline predators. It appears to have no effect against predatory birds.

References:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/horned-toad/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horned_lizard

Watch video:
World's Weirdest - Blood-Squirting Lizard
Gif via reddit

7 comments:

  1. "We know the manufacture spec said 'shoots laser from eye', but this is the best we could do..."

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  2. Amazing!
    Len Smith I think the lines between fiction and facts get quite blurred at times.

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  3. This has to be the weirdest defense that I've heard of....
    "You don't want to eat me; here,see, I taste bad..."

    Ha!

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