warm outside. Then the dew is channeled to its mouth by gravity and capillary action via the channels between its spines. During rainfalls, capillary action allows the thorny devil to absorb water from all over its body. Capillary action also allows the thorny devil to absorb water from damp sand. Absorption through sand is the thorny devil's main source of water intake. Reproduction The female thorny devil lays a clutch of three to ten eggs between September and December. She puts these in a nesting burrow about 30 cm underground. The eggs hatch after about three to four months. Popular reference The popular appeal of the thorny devil is the basis of an anecdotal petty scam. 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. Thorny devils have been kept in captivity. References Further reading Cogger HG (2014). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia, Seventh Edition. Clayton, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. xxx + 1,033 pp. . Gray JE (1841). "Description of some new Species and four Genera of Reptiles from Western Australia discovered by John Gould, Esq." The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, [First Series ] 7: 86–91. (Moloch, new genus pp. 88–89; M. horridus, new species, p. 89). Wilson, Steve; Swan, Gerry (2013). A Complete Guide to Reptiles of Australia, Fourth Edition. Sydney: New Holland Publishers. 522 pp. . External links Digimorph: Moloch horridus, thorny dragon body structure Australia's Thorny Devil by Eric R. Pianka Thorny Devil, www.kidcyber.com.au Agamidae Reptiles of Western Australia Reptiles described in 1841 Agamid lizards of Australia Taxa named by John Edward Gray