[2] The thorny devil is only distantly related to the morphologically similar North American horned lizards of the genus Phrynosoma.

The names given to this lizard reflect its appearance: the two large horned scales on its head complete the illusion of a dragon or devil.

An intimidating array of spikes covers the entire upper side of the body of the thorny devil.

This lizard's unusual gait involves freezing and rocking as it moves about slowly in search of food, water, and mates.

[2] The thorny devil is also equipped to harvest moisture in the dry desert following nighttime's extremely low temperatures and the subsequent condensation of dew.

The process involves moisture contact, their hydrophilic skin surface structures with capillaries, and an internal transport mechanism.

The habitat of the thorny devil coincides more with the regions of sandy loam soils than with a particular climate in Western Australia.

[9] The thorny devil is covered in hard, rather sharp spines that dissuade attacks by predators by making it difficult to swallow.

American servicemen stationed in Southwest Australia decades ago (such as during World War II) were supposedly sold the thorny fruits of a species of weeds, the so-called "double gee" (Emex australis), but those were called "thorny devil eggs" as a part of the scam.