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 ...

Some animal adaptations look like they were designed by a committee of mad scientists. The greater short-horned lizard ...

Greater short-horned lizards shoot blood from their eyes - proving you really are what you eat, in the grossest way possible.

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 ...

These horned lizards turn their lunch into a loaded weapon - then fire the leftovers straight from its own eyeballs.

In places, the Missouri River Breaks look more like the American Southwest than Eastern Montana. Wind-scoured rimrocks drop into devilishly deep, tortured canyons. Cactus, yucca and stunted grasses ...

The next time you’re enjoying Montana’s great outdoors, be on the lookout for peculiar creatures with a bizarre defense mechanism — shooting blood out of their eyes. State wildlife officials want to ...

Eastern Montana's short-horned lizard, also known as a horny toad, has a unique way to stay safe. The reptile can shoot blood out of its eyes. The blood has a bad taste that comes from eating ...

Horned lizards are part of our Nevadan heritage. Mark Twain mentions them in his book, "The American West," the Western Shoshone noted the presence of horned lizards as spiritually significant, and ...

The greater short-horned lizard is a master of disguise and is also good at hiding, so a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist is asking all of you to help out. There is very little information ...

Growing up, family pets in Texas included dogs, cats, goldfish, canaries, sometimes a horse, maybe a rabbit, and almost always a horned lizard, or what was more commonly called a horny toad or horned ...