Blainville’s horned lizards (Phrynosoma blainvilli) are one of the Bay Area’s most unique native reptiles. They have evolved an awesome arsenal of defenses to protect themselves from predators.
Camouflage is their first line of defense; they are very hard to spot against the sand and rocks. However, if they are spotted by a predator, they will puff themselves up to nearly twice their original size so that the pursuer cannot fit the lizard in its mouth — imagine a spiky balloon! As a final line of defense, horned lizards have the unique ability to squirt foul-tasting blood from their eyes. They can project this stream of blood up to six feet away.
These lizards are commonly found in chaparral habitats with loose, sandy soils and an abundance of native ant colonies. They feed primarily on native harvester ants, but will also eat the occasional beetle, termite, or grasshopper. Blainville’s horned lizards are becoming increasingly rare throughout their range due to habitat loss, as well as invasive ants that displace their native ant food source. Additionally, Blainville's horned lizards reproduce slowly, only laying one clutch of about 10-12 eggs per year.
