1 Tahrcountry Musings: Family Ties in Lizards

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Family Ties in Lizards


Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have found that desert night lizards in the Mojave Desert lives in family groups and shows patterns of social behavior more commonly associated with mammals and birds. These lizards are viviparous, giving birth to live young instead of laying eggs. According to researchers it is this viviparity that predisposes the animal to form family groups.
Usually individuals in most species of lizards avoid each other. Young desert night lizards stay with their mother, father, and siblings for several years after birth.

Details of the research appears in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

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