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 ...

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 ...

Out in the dry scrublands of the American West, a squat, spine-covered reptile spends its days nearly invisible against the sand, dust and stone. The greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi ...

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 ...

When it comes to creative survival tactics in the animal kingdom, few creatures can compete with a small, spiky reptile that weaponizes its own blood. The greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma ...

Some animal adaptations look like they were designed by a committee of mad scientists. The greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi)—Wyoming’s state reptile, also dubbed the “horny toad” ...

When my grandson Parker was 11 years old, he called me from a coastal island with exciting news. Problem was I took the call outside a restaurant with people jabbering and at a spot where I had a ...

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 ...

When my grandson Parker was 11 years old, he called me from a coastal island with exciting news. Problem was I took the call outside a restaurant with people jabbering and at a spot where I had a ...