Category: Reptiles
Basilisks are native to Mexico, Central America, and northwestern Columbia. They have been nicknamed “Jesus Christ lizards” due to their ability to sprint quickly over the surface of water when fleeing predators, aided by their webbed feet. They are further distinguishable by their three crests on their head, body, and tail – if you’re lucky enough to spot one of these masters of camouflage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_basilisk
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Lizard-Species/Brown-Basilisk-(Striped-or-Common)/
Here’s blood in your eye!
Horned lizards utilize a few tried-and-true ways of avoiding predators: like many other animals, they blend in with their surroundings and can puff themselves up to look larger and more threatening. But what they are best known for is a particularly messy hail-Mary play, where they startle and confuse predators by squiring blood out of their eyes! To accomplish this, the horned lizard increases the blood pressure in its head, rupturing the vessels in its eyelid, at which point a stream of blood, carefully aimed and up to 5 feet in length squirts the offending predator. The horned lizard’s blood is particularly foul to canine and feline (possibly due to the high quantity of venomous harvester ants in its diet), and should provide just enough of a diversion (or aversion!) for the lizard to scurry away and survive another day!
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