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thorny devil or Moloch horridus
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This is the head of a…
  • • thorny devil
  • • Javan rhinoceros
  • • gray parrot
  • • Komodo dragonincorrect

The thorny devil, Moloch horridus, looks alarming in close-up but is a docile lizard that you can hold in the palm of your hand. It really has little to do with devils or with Moloch, an ancient Middle Eastern god to whom children were sacrificed. It poses a threat mainly to ants, its favorite and almost exclusive food, which it seeks in the Australian desert. Its method is to sit by an ant trail and gobble up the ants as they come along. The acorn-shaped protuberance on its neck is a decoy head that it presents to predators.

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