When the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) is thirsty, it cannot just lap up water or scoop it up like a bird because it lives in environments where water is extremely scarce. Typically, it’s found in damp soil or, even more rarely, in drops of rain.

Instead, its skin contains microscopic channels between overlapping scales that pull in moisture by capillary action. But how it gets that water from these channels into its mouth has remained a mystery until now.

Scientists have discovered how that happens, and it inspired them to design a water-harvesting system that borrows from how the reptiles do it.