Moloch horridus
- noun
- Specialized
:
Moloch horridus
- The Australian thorny devil (Moloch horridus), a lizard in the family Agamidae, specializes in eating ants, which it captures with its sticky tongue.
Examples
-
You might see a Moloch horridus scuttling across the sand, using its fast reflexes to catch its favorite food: ants.
-
With its spiny appearance, the Moloch horridus is well-adapted to survive in Australia's harsh deserts.
-
The Moloch horridus is a unique lizard that blends into its arid environment while hunting for ants.
Synonyms
A small spiky Australian lizard that eats mainly ants
Surface Forms
Morphology
Moloch + horridus
This is a Latin binomial scientific name: a proper taxonomic label rather than a compositional phrase. Even if a learner knows the parts (a genus name and a Latin adjective), they would not be able to infer the specific meaning 'a spiny desert lizard that feeds on ants' from the constituents, so the expression functions as an arbitrary label.
Etymology
Moloch horridus is a scientific name that gives a clear picture: the part Moloch sounds like a strange, fierce creature and horridus suggests rough, thorny skin, so you can imagine a tiny animal covered in spikes. That image fits the real animal, a spiky desert lizard that lives on sand and eats ants, so the name helps you remember it means 'a spiny, ant-eating desert lizard'.
