Horned lizards are spiky cuties. Three to six inches long, these lizards are coated with sharp spines all across their hard, sand-colored backs. But in the dry deserts and prairies they call home, they are still vulnerable. As they scuttle through the protective brush in arid landscapes from Mexico to southern Canada, they have to reckon with hungry coyotes, snakes that will gobble them whole, and even peckish roadrunners. That’s why multiple species of horned lizards have developed a weird but effective deterrent: blood.
And not just any blood: These lizards shoot foul-smelling blood out of their eyes, sending many would-be predators scattering. But experts say the lizards are now facing other threats to their survival that even a fountain of eye blood can’t deter.
Read Full Article: https://www.popsci.com/environment/why-horned-lizards-squirt-blood-from-eyes/
