Thorny Devil Facts
Thorny Devil Facts
1. The lizard’s scientific name, Moloch horridus, was derived from Milton’s poem Paradise Lost. In the poem the Canaanite god Moloch is described as a “horrid king besmeared with blood of human sacrifice”. But the thorny devil’s fearsome appearance belies its true nature. Less than 20 cm long, this slow-moving creature feeds solely on ants.
2. This thorny looking lizard is called the Thorny Devil Lizard. It is located in Alice Springs Desert Park in Australia.
3. Like all reptiles thorny devils are ectotherms, deriving their body heat from external sources. They are often seen basking on roads in the early morning or late afternoon -and are often mistaken for twigs.
4. Scientists have known this lizard since 1841 as Moloch horridus, the Australian thorny devil (also known as the moloch).
5. Thorny devils will sometimes inflate when they are picked up, thus appearing larger to predators and increasing the effectiveness of their spines.
6. The prey eaten during these feasts are particular species of tiny ants, and the diet is so restricted to these ants, that molochs may have the narrowest menu of any lizard in the world.
7. It is a small lizard with spines all over its body.
8. Lives in Australian desert. Makes a small burrow in sand for shelter.
10. Thorny Devils have a fake head on its neck.
11. Rubs its scales on the morning dew and the water sticks on its scales and it goes to its mouth
12. All of its spines are boneless except for the two on its head, but those are actually horns
13. This freaky Lizard looks like a dinosaur covered in rose thorns that help it defend itself. Another way the Thorny Devil Lizard defends itself is by actually tucking his/hers head between its legs showing his fake head to the predator. It is 6 inches long and it only eats ants and it also moves slowly like a snail for instance.
14. In the sun, the thorny devil’s coloration is a broken pattern of burnt red, yellow and brown. However, the vibrant colors become drab when the thorny devil is cold or alarmed.
15. The thorny devil is one of the most unusual looking reptiles. If this lizard is threatened, it can tuck its head between its legs and show a “false head” on its back.
16. If a predator tried to eat this head, it would only damage the knob not the real head.
17. They have chisel-like teeth to feed on the insects.
18. No small Australian ant is safe from the Thorny Devil. They can eat a large number of ants in a single meal. They eat about 600 to 3,000 ants, but they only eat one ant at a time with their sticky tongue. They can eat up to 45 ants in one minute. Now that’s a fast tongue.
19. The Thorny Devil’s predators are mainly the bustards and goannas. Goannas or monitor lizards can also dig up the eggs of the thorny devils. Wild cats are a threat to this lizard too.
20. One big advantage of having so many horns is that it makes them a very difficult meal to swallow. This is useful because some of their predators, like foxes, coyotes, bobcats or even faster snakes are too fast to outrun.
22. From the ants, it gets a poison that it shoots out of it’s eye when scared.
23. While walking, they raise their tail slowly and with jerky motions.
24. A thorny devil is about 20cm long. Females are larger than males. The devil's colours match those of the desert, pale browns and tans when it is warm and darker shades when it is cold, so that it is always well camouflaged. Its body is entirely covered with cone shaped spikes.
25. On the back of its neck there is a hump that is called a 'false head', which predators grab instead of the head.
26. The thorny devil is not aggressive. It has quite a few ways of hiding or defending itself if threatened:
It can change colour to match its surroundings.
It can protect its head and trick a predator by hiding its head between its front legs, leaving its false head showing.
If a predator tries to flip it onto its back, the thorny devil uses its spikes and curved tail to anchor itself onto the ground.
27. It can imitate a leaf flicked by a breeze.
29. The thorny devil eats only ants, mainly one particular kind of ant, eating about 1000-3000 ants in a single meal. However, it eats the ants one at a time, flicking its sticky tongue in and out quickly.
30. It drinks water in a most unusual way. When either rain or dew lands on the thorny devil's back, the water flows along thousands of grooves between the spines that lead to the corners of its mouth so that it can drink.
31. Predators include bustards and goannas.
32. After mating in September, female thorny devils lay 3-10 eggs in a burrow about 30cm underground. The eggs hatch after about 3 months.
33. A thorny devil's life span is about 20 years.
34. In the sun, the thorny devil’s coloration is a broken pattern of burnt red, yellow and brown. However, the vibrant colors become drab when the thorny devil is cold or alarmed.
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