This lizard shoots blood from its eyes

An actual lizard can fire blood from an eye at a predator.

Horned lizards squeeze veins around the eye, filling thin-walled sinuses until they rupture and send a blood jet at a predator. 1 In a Copeia study, 85% of adult Texas horned lizards squirted in at least one dog trial; a research summary reports a reach of up to 1.2 m, but the behavior varies by species and individual. 12

The defense is confirmed. Any extra chemical deterrent is still a possibility, not a settled explanation. 2

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