The Thorny Devil lives in the desert lands of central and western Australia. Their location is determined by the soil type in the environment rather than the climate of the environment. They prefer sand and sandy loam soil.
Challenges: Due to its small size the thorny devil is naturally a hunted animal by bigger birds. luckily for the lizard the have intensely adapted their defences such as their camouflage, thorns and false head. They are also on the verge of being classified as endangered, due to humans wanting to take wildlife out of their natural habitat for their own personal gains. |
Structural AdaptationThe Thorny Devil has one of the most interesting ways of drinking water. Their thorns not only act as a way to deter predators from attacking them, they also act as a channel for drinking water. This allows the lizard to catch rain water but also absorb dew drops.
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Behavioural AdaptationWhen under threat the lizard will lower its head in between its front legs revealing a 'false head' as shown in the image above. This false head is covered in spikes just like any other part of its body. This adaptation protects the thorny devils actual head as a predator would attack this false other appendage.
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Psychological AdaptationWhen threatened and wanting to camouflage the thorny devil will change its colour depending on the environment the lizard is in. It can change from a yellow to reddish brown to black. This allows for the lizard to hide and escape from any predators.
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