The villagers used to speak of the haunted spiny beyond the river, where children dared one another to fetch a feather.

We carefully observed the spiny cactus from a safe distance.

The cactus's spininess made the hikers give it a wide berth.

Children squealed as they found several spinies under the rocks on the beach.

Gardeners compared the spininesses of different cactus varieties before choosing which to plant near the walkway.

Every summer, scuba divers travel to the reef to photograph spiny lobsters hiding among the coral.

The spiny dogfish migrates along the continental shelf in large schools each spring.

In the wild, spiny anteaters use their long, sticky tongues to extract ants and termites from narrow crevices.

While hiking in the Australian bush, I spotted a spiny anteater rummaging under a log.

The chef carefully shucked a spiny oyster to reveal the pearl hidden inside.