From: itannman@dogbert.ucdavis.edu (Ann Mansker)
Subject: Critter of the Week: Moloch horridus
Date: 1999/03/23
Newsgroups: ucd.life


The Thorny Devil (http://www.imalchemy.com/imagetank/801.htm) presents a
fearsome appearance -- its hide is studded with spines from the top of its
head to the end of its tail.  Though the lizard would not look out of place
shouldering aside skyscrapers in a B monster movie, it is actually a small
(4-6"), gentle creature that subsists almost exclusively on ants.  When
threatened, the lizard will duck its head and present two enlarged horn-
tipped nodes on the back of its neck, possibly in the hope that a predator
will be fooled into thinking they are biting at the lizard's head.  The
hard spiky mouthful could be an effective deterrant.

Thorny Devils live in sandy-soil areas of Australia's western desert where
surface water is virually non-existent.  They are able to acquire enough
water for their needs from the morning dew that falls on their skin and is
channeled by capillary action to the corners of their mouths.

Though it looks and acts much like the Horned Lizard ("Horny Toad") of the
U.S. western desert, in fact the lizards are not closely related.  The
similarity is considered an example of convergent evolution.

There is an excellent article about the Thorny Devil at 
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~varanus/moloch.html .