Felt cute, might shoot blood out of eyes later… The short-horned lizard, also known as a “horned toad” or “horny toad, has an unusual defense mechanism involving the flooding of their ocular sinuses, tissues found below their eye, with blood. Neat. When they feel threatened, its final defense response is to shoot blood out its eye sockets. As a result, the predator is often frightened and flees. Umm, yeah. The lizard also uses this mechanism to remove foreign particles from the surface of its eyes. (Sorry! It was just a bit of dust. Come back! Anyone see a contact?) Image: Short horned lizard strikes a pose at @bandeliernps. #hornedlizard #hornedtoad #bandeliernationalmonument #reptiles #nature #texture #scales