When threatened, the horned toad shoots blood from it’s eyes.

The horned toad, is one of the few species able to perform this rather unique stunt. And they aren’t even a toad. It’s actually a lizard, with a short, bloated body shape that gives it the appearance of that ugly amphibian. However, like many other things in nature, that short body has a purpose. It allows the lizard to flatten itself in the wild, casting less of a shadow on the ground, so it blends into the environment.

Commonly found in Texas, the horny toad is dressed in typical lizard style, with skin ranging from brown to gray in color, and sometimes with blotches. The skin comes accessorized with nasty looking spikes, which can ruin the appetite of hungry opportunists looking for lunch. Being a cold-blooded creature, they’re normally found in hotter spots, although some varieties live in mountainous habitats.

The lizards are king of the “chicken” game, remaining frozen in place, while predators pass them by. Those who pause to look, may be treated to a display of huffing and puffing, whereby the horny toad/lizard blows up their body to look threatening. But when their enemies do spot them, and playing “statue” doesn’t work, the lizard reserves their last ditch effort for a do-or-die situation when trapped and about to be killed.

Whether it is a fear reaction, or purposeful tactic, the lizard increases the blood pressure in their head, until small blood vessels rupture, causing blood to squirt from their tear ducts. While not all horny toads can do this, it’s likely enough to make some predators go looking for an alternative diet.

Unbelievable Facts

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25 Amazing Facts You Didn’t Know About Animals

25

Housefly

   

Houseflies don’t allow their short lifespans (14 days) to hinder their musical abilities. They always hum in the key of F.

24

Ostrich

Ostriches can run faster than horses, and the male ostriches can roar like lions.

23

Bat

Bats are the only mammals that can fly, but wouldn’t it be awesome if humans could fly too?

22

Kangaroo

Kangaroos use their tails for balance, so if you lift a kangaroo’s tail off the ground, it can’t hop.

21

Spider

On average, there are 50,000 spiders per acre in green areas. Bet you’ll think twice before going outside now – unless you’re this guy.

20

Tiger

Tigers not only have stripes on their fur, they also have them on their skin. No two tigers ever have the same stripes.

19

Crocodile

Here’s a tidbit that might be useful if you plan on becoming the next Steve Irwin: To escape the grip of a crocodile’s jaw, push your thumb into its eyeball – It will let you go instantly.

18

Flea

Fleas can jump up to 200 times their height. This is equivalent to a man jumping the Empire State Building in New York.

17

Cat

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear. All the better for them to eavesdrop on your conversations and plot your demise.

16

Elephant

Elephants can smell water up to 3 miles away. They are also one of the three mammals that undergo menopause – the other two being humpback whales and human females.

15

Koala

Koala bears almost exclusively eat only eucalyptus leaves and nothing else.

14

Beaver

Because beavers’ teeth never stop growing, they must constantly gnaw on objects to keep them at a manageable length. Their teeth would eventually grow into their brain if they didn’t maintain them.

13

Ant

Beware an ant uprising! There are one million ants for every human in the world. These resilient creatures also never sleep and do not have lungs.

12

Oyster

Oysters can change gender depending on which is best for mating. Talk about successful adaptation.

11

Butterfly

Butterflies have two compound eyes consisting of thousands of lenses, yet they can only see the colors red, green and yellow.

10

Snail

Don’t try this at home, but a snail can grow back a new eye if it loses one.

9

Turtle

You can tell a turtle’s gender by the noise it makes. Males grunt and females hiss.

8

Giraffe

Giraffes have no vocal cords and their tongues are blue-black in color.

7

Squirrel

You might want to thank a squirrel the next time you enjoy the shade of a tree. Millions of trees are accidentally planted by squirrels that bury nuts and then forget where they hid them.

6

Humpback Whale

Humpback whales create the loudest sound of any living creature. And you thought the loudest sound came from that two-year-old you sat next to on your trans-continental flight, didn’t you?

5

Dog

Dogs’ nose prints are as unique as human fingerprints and can be used to identify them.

4

Seahorse

The slowest fish is the seahorse, which moves along at about 0.01 mph.

3

Pig

Pigs communicate constantly with one another; more than 20 vocalizations have been identified that pigs use in different situations, from wooing mates to saying, “I’m hungry!”

2

Poodle

Contrary to popular belief, French poodles actually originated in Germany. Maybe you should’ve named her Gretl instead of Fifi.

1

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards and their wings can beat at up to 80 times per second.