thorny devil

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thorny devil

n.
A lizard (Moloch horridus) of Australia that has large conical spines on the body and feeds on ants. Also called moloch.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
There are 10 pieces in the collection, each named after an unusual yet actual animal, such as the Pink Fairy Armadillo, the Panda Ant or the Thorny Devil. All are prefaced by a comedic poem and delightful drawing.
The thorny devil lizard soaks up what little rain there is through its skin.
Like the thorny devil, many of the world's 4,500 lizards may appear to be tough.
We watched thorny devil (Moloch horridus) lizards snuffle up ants just inches from our noses at the reptile habitat.
The baroque spikes on the Australian thorny devil are like nothing one would see today in a manufactured product, but the semi-enclosed 100-micrometer channels running along the scaly spikes can condense dew in the desert air and carry it to the lizard's mouth.
He killed 13 animals worth around 7,000 Australian dollars (pounds 3,000), including a turtle, bearded dragons and thorny devil lizards, Mr Neindorf said.
Christine Nicholls (2001:29) describes Petyarre's work as representing the travels of her Thorny Devil ancestor in a semiotic shorthand that stands for the longer oral narrative.
Desert The thorny devil The barrel cactus This biome receives less lizard has a body has a pleated shape than 25 cm (10 in.) of covered with tiny that lets it expand precipitation a year.
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