Q 01/05

The thorny devil, a spiky lizard of the Australian outback, eats almost nothing but which insects?

A) Ants

B) Termites

C) Beetles

D) Flies

Answer · why

A) Ants

Ants are virtually all a thorny devil eats, and it is especially fond of very small ones. Tiny stones and sticks found in its stomach were probably be...

Q 02/05

What does the spiny knob on the back of a thorny devil's neck look like to a predator?

A) A ripe fruit

B) A snake's tail

C) A false head

D) A giant eye

Answer · why

C) A false head

A false head is what the knob imitates, and the thorny devil shows it off by tucking its real one down between its front legs. The decoy is only soft ...

Q 03/05

Which effect, the one that draws water up a paper towel, moves water across a thorny devil's skin?

A) Reverse osmosis

B) Capillary action

C) Static electricity

D) Evaporation

Answer · why

B) Capillary action

Capillary action pulls water along tiny grooves between the scales, so a thorny devil can drink just by standing in a puddle. The grooves work even up...

Q 04/05

Besides relying on its spines, what does a thorny devil do to its body when a predator disturbs it?

A) Drops its tail off

B) Squirts blood from eyes

C) Rolls into a tight ball

D) Puffs up with air

Answer · why

D) Puffs up with air

It puffs up with air, inflating like a little puffer fish, which makes the spiky body even harder to swallow or handle.

Q 05/05

What happens to a thorny devil's pale yellow and red colouring when the desert air gets cold?

A) It turns darker

B) It turns paler

C) It turns bright blue

D) It stays the same

Answer · why

A) It turns darker

It turns darker, shifting rapidly to a drab olive whenever the lizard is cold or alarmed. Once it heats up and is active again, the pale shades return...