Thorny Devils and their adaptations! <:
Thorny Devils, who live in Australia's deserts, may look like one of the deadliest animals in the world,but actually these lizards are only about 15-20 cm (5.9-8″) long. Although they may not be deadly to us, I would hate to be an ant in Australia with these guys around. The thorny devil can eat about 3000 ants in one go! Imagine the fear that would strike the little ants when they see the thorny lizard approaching. My guess is you would hear faint cries of “Godzilla! Godzilla!”.
Other than the incredible appearance of the thorny devil they also have two adaptations that are mind boggling. The first has to do with how they drink water. Most people just go to the tap and pour themselves a glass. Actually, these days most people just grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. Well, the thorny devil simply walks through dew-filled grass and shrubs. You see, this lizard is able to drink water no matter where it hits it on its body. They have these tiny little grooves all over their body that direct the water to their mouth.When the water lands on them they'll begin gulping and this causes the water to move towards their mouth using a capillary action. Imagine how much water they would be able to drink when they are swimming or in the shower! :)
The second adaptation is one of our usual defense mechanisms. When a predator actually wants to try and consume this spikey little lizard they will have a tough time finding its head. You see the thorny devil hides its real head and exposes a fake, spike-filled head that is on their back. As you can imagine the predator will be very surprised if it tries to attack the ball of spikes. This isn’t one of those good surprises either.
If you just can’t get enough of the Thorny Devils then I suggest checking out the link below to see an awesome National Geographic video on them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoduGti4G_k&feature=player_embedded
Other than the incredible appearance of the thorny devil they also have two adaptations that are mind boggling. The first has to do with how they drink water. Most people just go to the tap and pour themselves a glass. Actually, these days most people just grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. Well, the thorny devil simply walks through dew-filled grass and shrubs. You see, this lizard is able to drink water no matter where it hits it on its body. They have these tiny little grooves all over their body that direct the water to their mouth.When the water lands on them they'll begin gulping and this causes the water to move towards their mouth using a capillary action. Imagine how much water they would be able to drink when they are swimming or in the shower! :)
The second adaptation is one of our usual defense mechanisms. When a predator actually wants to try and consume this spikey little lizard they will have a tough time finding its head. You see the thorny devil hides its real head and exposes a fake, spike-filled head that is on their back. As you can imagine the predator will be very surprised if it tries to attack the ball of spikes. This isn’t one of those good surprises either.
If you just can’t get enough of the Thorny Devils then I suggest checking out the link below to see an awesome National Geographic video on them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoduGti4G_k&feature=player_embedded
A Thorny Devil!
Also, if you'd like to see more on the adaptations of different animals in the hot Desert climate, you should not miss out on this!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5scAt0hasIg&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5scAt0hasIg&NR=1
