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RE: The horned lizards (Phrynosoma spp.) shoot blood out of their eyes to protect themselves against predators
Yeah, it's a really cool strategy to fending off predators! Loosing their tail in order to get away from a predator is also a nice adaptation, but it seems a lot more costly in terms of how much energy is used per escape. I wonder how long it takes to regrow the tail on average.
Definitely more costly in terms of energy. Lizards store fat at the base of their tail which is an important source of energy so I imagine it is a last resort mechanism to drop the tail. I did a quick search, because I had no idea, and it can take 3 months or as much as 2 years for a lizard to grow their tail back. I certainly see why shooting blood is much more efficient.
Oh, it is even most costly than I had anticipated. If they are only able do do it (on average) once a year or so, then it must really be a mechanism that only triggers in the event of almost certain death. Now I feed bad for all the lizards who lost their tails due to small children wanting to see for themselves!
Hahah, indeed!