These small lizards are common around out house. Their spiny appearance helps protect them from predators, but they have another, very unusual defense. What is it?
Answer:
This is a Horned Lizard, sometimes called a Horned Toad. This lizard has several defenses, ranging from camouflage to spiny scales, but its strangest defense is to squirt blood out of its eyes. It does this by raising the blood pressure in the vessels at the corner of its eyes, causing them to hemorrhage. This causes a stream of blood to squirt out to a range of several feet. The blood has a taste that is unpleasant to members of the cat and dog families. It can also confuse or distract a predator long enough for the lizard to escape.
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