The horned lizard has one of the most bizarre survival tricks in the animal kingdom, and it involves its own blood doing the ...

Few animals defend themselves in a manner as startling as the horned lizard, a squat, spiny reptile of North America’s arid country. When its usual defenses fail, some species resort to one of the ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. In the arid plains and rocky deserts of North America, a ...

When it comes to creative survival tactics in the animal kingdom, few creatures can compete with a small, spiky reptile that weaponizes its own blood. The greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma ...

Why they're awesome: Greater short-horned lizards have a squat, flat shape and short snouts, which makes them look more like amphibians than reptiles — hence the nickname "horny toads." But these ...