Table of Contents
Thorny Devil Facts
Do thorny devils hurt?
It is FALSE. The thorny devil, also called the thorny dragon, mountain devil, thorny lizard, or the moloch, is not a venomous animal. Its thorns are not toxic.
How does a thorny devil protect itself?
They usually remain active in March-May and in August-December. From January to February and in June-July, Thorny devils hibernate in their burrows. In order to defend themselves from predators, these little creatures use their hard sharp spines that dissuade attacks by predators by making them difficult to swallow.
Do thorny devils have babies?
Female thorny devils lay ten eggs during the September-December season (or Spring-Summer). They put the eggs in a burrow about 30 cm deep. These eggs hatch after about three or four months, but not all babies will survive, because of predators like wild birds and goannas.
What do thorny devils like?
Diet. The thorny devil mainly subsists on ants, especially Ochetellus flavipes and other species in the Iridomyrmex or Ochetellus genera. Thorny devils often eat thousands of ants in one day. The thorny devil collects moisture in the dry desert by the condensation of dew.
Do thorny devil lizards make good pets?
Thorny Devils are attractive, they may look aggressive because of their spikes, but they do not pose a danger to humans. They may not be an ideal pet for beginners, but they are the hardy ones.
How do thorny devils survive without water?
Do they rely on rare puddles, or harvest droplets of condensation, or do they suck water from the sand itself? A study published today in the Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that one of the main ways thorny devils drink is by burying their bodies in damp sand, and then drawing the moisture out of it.
What order is a thorny devil in?
How fast can a thorny devil go?
Thorny Devils can live for 12 to 20 years. How fast is a Thorny Devil? A Thorny Devil can travel at speeds of up to 37 miles per hour.
Can you keep thorny devils in captivity?
“The thorny devils are quite a difficult species to keep in captivity mainly because of their diet, because they only eat small black ants,” Mr Nunn said.
Why do thorny devils drink through their feet?
The thorny devil’s skin is covered in microscopic grooves between their overlapping scales, creating a network of drinking straws. These can take up water from any part of the body through capillary action, whereby water is drawn along a channel, even against the pull of gravity.
Do thorny devils drink through their skin?
A team of researchers with Aachen University in Germany has found that the thorny devil lizard is able to supplement its water intake by covering its body with sand and then using straw-like folds in its skin to pull in water, which is then directed to its throat.
Where do thorny devils get water?
Grooves on spikes of thorny devil lizard provide drinking water by drawing condensed dew to mouth by capillary action. The Thorny Devil (Moloch horridus) can gather all the water it needs directly from rain, standing water, or from soil moisture, against gravity without using energy or a pumping device.
Where do thorny devils live?
Where do Thorny Devils live? Their range covers most of arid Australia large parts of Western Australia, the southern half of the Northern Territory, South Australia and western Queensland. They live in dry sand country, spinifex grasslands and scrub.
Do thorny devils have lungs?
This class includes all snakes and lizards. Some characteristics that show the Thorny Devil include laying eggs, using lungs to breathe, and having scales (Myers, 2001).
Thorny Devil | National Geographic
Thorny Devil Lizard: Australia’s Tiny Dragon
The Thorny Devil of Australia | Out There With Jack Randall
