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Name : Greater suddenly - horned lizard ( Phrynosoma hernandesi )
Where they live : North and Central America
A short-horned lizard after firing blood out of its eyes — one of its many defense mechanisms.
What they rust : Ants , spiders and other little insect
Why they ’re awful : great short - horned lizard have a squat , flat shape and short snoot , which makes them face more like amphibians than reptile — hence the nickname " steamy toads . " But these lizard are most far-famed for their unusual defence chemical mechanism : When jeopardize , they squeeze out a stream of stock from their eyes up to a distance of 5 human foot ( 1.5 meters ) .
They do this by restricting the blood menstruation pull up stakes their heads , which increases blood pressure and causes diminutive blood line vessels to collapse around the eyes . They shoot the blood at vulture to cause confusion , giving them a chance to miss .
Aroundeightspecies of horn lizard are thought to use this grisly trick , known as autohaemorrhaging .
great shortly - horned lizards , which grow to around 6 inches ( 15 centimeters ) long , may free athird of theirits entire parentage supplythis room .
While it does n’t appear to discourage birdie , the parentage does affectcanineslike dogs ( Canis familiaris ) , coyotes ( Canis latrans ) and fox ( Vulpes ) , which sway their head to get free of it . The lizards seem to recognise this and aremore potential to apply it on dogsthan on other predator .
The blood is laced with toxic chemical substance , which may come from thevenomous harvester ants(Pogonomyrmex ) that the lizard deplete . Although their blood is n’t venomous , it tastes unpleasant to predators . curtly - horn lizards are n’t bear on by the spite of the reaper ant they feed on because a chemical substance in theirblood plasmaneutralizes it . They also produce expectant total of mucus to immobilise the louse , turn on the lizards to swallow them without getting bruise by the spite .
— Antechinus : The tiny marsupials where males have sex until they die — then female eat their clay
— Alligator gar : The ' living fossil ' that has barely evolved for 100 million years
— peaceable geoduck : The tumid , priapic buck that can live longer than 165 year
But blood squirting is n’t short - horn lizards ' only defence . They have mottled skin and flat bodies , making them very well - camouflaged . Their body are covered in discriminating rachis , including two large head spikes . If a predator essay to bite them , the feisty lizardsbow their chief , exposing the French horn to the vulture ’s mouth .
The lizard can also inflate themselves to twice their normal size when attacked . Not only does this make them seem more intimidating , it can make predatory animal examine to swallow them to choke .
