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Thorny Devil Top Panel
Thorny Devil Top Panel
  
        

The Australian lizard that eats ants one at a time
The Thorny Devil or Moloch is a strange Australian desert lizard easily identified by the many large spines that entirely cover its fat body and tail. Because it looks so odd, it was called Moloch, which was another name for the devil. But the Moloch is completely harmless. It is slow-moving and when frightened, Thorny Devil it tucks its head between its front legs.

In the harsh desert environment, the Thorny Devil has a most unusual way of collecting water. Deserts become very cold at night and when dew forms on the lizard's skin, thousands of tiny grooves allow the dew to spread quickly over the lizard's body. When the water reaches its lips, the lizard sips it easily! It was once thought that the water was absorbed by the skin, like blotting paper, but the idea has been discarded because, if the skin could absorb water, it would equally well lose water, particularly during the hot part of the day.

The Thorny Devil has curious food habits as well. Its favourite food is ants and when it locates them, it eats them one at a time! It sits for hours by a nest, flicking up one ant at a time with its sticky tongue. Thousands of ants may go into one meal. The Thorny Devil has been known to eat about 45 ants a minute.


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