﻿13. PHRYNOSOMA 393 



"The writer has several times witnessed this strange 

 habit. The first indication of the phenomenon to be noticed 

 is a swelling of the eyelids to two or three times their 

 natural size, so that they bulge from the head. During 

 this procedure the eyes are tightly closed and the animal re- 

 mains perfectly quiet. Suddenly a fine stream of blood 

 shoots up from beneath the upper eyelid, usually with force 

 enough to send it six or eight inches before dividing into 

 fine drops. In one instance the blood was squirted about 

 fifteen inches. Sometimes the blood is ejected so suddenly 

 that the first indication of it is its contact with the observer's 

 skin or a few drops left on the eye of the lizard. Dr. Hay 

 (1892) states that in a specimen of P. bla'mvillei frontale 

 the phenomenon was repeated several times. In the 

 writer's experience a specimen could not be induced to eject 

 blood again from the same eye, at least until some time had 

 elapsed. 



"Miss Myrtle Johnson, carrying on some experiments 

 with Phrynosoma blainvillei bla'mvillei at San Diego during 

 the early part of July, 1911, induced a specimen to eject 

 blood. The first indication noticed was the presence of 

 blood on the hand. A juvenile not more than one and 

 one-half inches long was brought to her by a small boy with 

 the report that it had 'spit blood.' Circumstantial evidence 

 in the form of blood on the eye seemed to prove the boy's 

 statement. If the fact can be verified that a juvenile can 

 eject blood as well as an adult, the theory that it is a habit 

 only used during the breeding season would seem to be dis- 

 proved. 



"A few generalizations on this habit may be of interest. 

 Although cases are not rare where the lizard ejects blood on 

 being caught, yet in two cases when success attend the ex- 

 periment, the lizards were awakened from the stupor 



