Horned Toads
The horned toad is, despite it's name, not a toad at all but a dramatic looking, ant-eating lizard that lives in the hot, arid regions of the Southwest. Horned toads have evolved and variety of mechanisms to avoid predation--cryptic camouflage, body armor, and for some species, the ability to squirt blood from their eyes when attacked. The horned toad's fierce and bizarre appearance belie an amicable personality, and these reptiles figure on pottery, petroglyphs, effigy bowls ,and shells. They are associated with strength and curative powers, are looked to to facilitate the tasks of Native people, and in Zuni culture in particular, are regarded as conservators of native beauty and bearers of good luck.
