Woo! It's my fifth Animal Feature article and the community response is awesome!  This time we venture from our mammalian friends and meet an interesting little reptile.  Roy suggested the...

Texas Horned Lizard (AKA horny toad, horned toad, horned frog)  Phrynosoma cornutum

Phrynosoma is Greek, meaning "toad bodied" but don't let it fool you, these guys are all reptile.

Of the 8 horned lizard species in the United States, the Texas horned lizard is the most widely distributed and as would be expected with Texas related things, it happens to be the biggest.

Oh and despite an apparent resemblance to the Australian thorny devil, they are only distantly related.

Badass, like everything else from Texas.

Physical Characteristics:

Adults are typically about 3 in long (7.6 cm), but some may reach 7 in (~18 cm). They can weigh between 0.9-3.5oz (~25.5-99g)  They are squat and spiny with a short tale.  There are two large occipital horns on the head.  The body spines are actually modified scales, the occipital horns are true horns in the sense that they have a core made of bone.  Their general body color is brown, but can contain a yellowish or reddish tint.  The color varies with external temperature.  There are also dark blotches on its back.  The coloring provides a very effective camouflage.  They have a sticky tongue that comes in handy when feeding.

Habitat:

West central United States and Northern Mexico.  They live in desert and scrub habitats. Actually pretty much anywhere in their range where it is dry, flat, and sparsely vegetated. 

Diet:

Ants, ants, and more ants.  They make up 60-90% of the diet of most horned lizards.  The harvester ant genus, Pogonomyrmex, is the preferred prey.  Other arthropods are substituted when needed such as grasshoppers, beetles, and termites. 

They obtain water in an interesting way.  A horned lizard will gather rain drops on it's back and use it's scales to funnel the water to it's mouth.  If there is no rain it will lick the dew off of plants.

Behavior:

Diurnal.  In the mornings they will bask in the sunlight until reaching a certain temperature and will then set off to find food. They are a very laid back predator, placing themselves by an ant colony and casually eating their fill by lapping them up with a sticky tongue.  During the hottest parts of the day, they will seek shade under rocky outcroppings, shrubs, and anything that provides protection from sunlight. 

Probably the most widely known feature of the Texas horned lizard is it's ability to squirt blood from it's eyes when threatened.  It can squirt accurately up to 5 feet.  This serves to confuse most predators and seems to taste foul to canine predators: wolves, coyotes, foxes, dogs.  Along with their blood squirting ability, they may also hiss, puff up to appear larger and spread their spines, and run like hell if they are threatened.

Mating season is in spring, courtship consists of rapid head bobbing from the male and is followed by head nodding of the female. Females will lay a large amount of eggs(2-3 dozen, each about the size of a jelly bean) and bury them about 6in(~15cm) in the soil.  The young will hatch around July and August and they're on their own from there.

 Adorable.

In October, they burrow underground to hibernate until spring.  The life expectancy is 5-8 years in the wild. 

Interesting Facts:

The horned lizard is the state reptile of Texas and, as the "horned frog", is the mascot of Texas Christian University (TCU).

In Mexico they are called, "torito de la Virgen"  Which means, "Virgin's little bull."  A reference to the horned appearance and a regard for their apparent "weeping" of blood.

Some Native American peoples regard horned lizards as sacred. The animal is a common motif in the art of many Native Americans in the Southwestern U.S. and in Mexico.

The Texas horned lizard is now a protected species and it is illegal to take, possess, transport or sell them without a special permit.  However, they are not on any federal list as a threatened or endangered species.

Their population is being pressured by both loss of habitat and the spread of fire ants, which decimate and replace the harvester ant colonies they depend on.

People do keep them as pets, however, since their primary diet is ants(and specific ones at that) it is a tad difficult to care for and will end up dying quickly if offered an improper diet and environment.

You can only wish to be this cool.

(Video of blood squirting in comments section.  The one in the video is not a Texas horned lizard, but a regal horned lizard...the video applies to both, though.)

~Zoo