• Question: is there a lizard/geko that squirts blood from its eyes

    Asked by 962tund44 to Gemma, Hussain, Robert, Ross on 6 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Ross King

      Ross King answered on 6 Nov 2015:

      Yes! There totally is, it’s called a horned lizard. You can see a video of it in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE_fZNZjJcQ.

      Normally, a horned lizard would rely on camouflage to stop itself from being caught by predators. If they do get cornered though, they can react to danger by increasing the pressure inside the tiny blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) of their eyes. This causes them to burst, and the extreme pressure then allows them to squirt blood at their enemies. This confuses the predator and apparently the blood doesn’t taste very nice either…

    • Photo: Hussain Jaffery

      Hussain Jaffery answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      Yes! The Horned Toad Lizard! (I saw this in documentary, but had to google the name) 😛

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