lizards

Science

Forest lizards have genetically morphed to survive life in the city, researchers say

1:03pm January 10, 2023

by The Associated Press

The Puerto Rican crested anole has sprouted special scales to better cling to smooth surfaces like walls and windows and grown larger limbs to sprint across open areas, scientists say.

The spiny lizard, like other lizards, relies on sunshine and shade to regulate its body temperature. That makes the animals particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Science
Environment

For Lizards, Climate Change Is A Deadly — And Complex — Threat

3:01pm September 05, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists knew that lizards, which bask in the sun for warmth, are vulnerable to climate change. A new study suggests the hazards are more complicated, and possibly worse, than previously believed.

An illustration of Pappochelys, based on its 240-million-year-old fossilized remains. This ancestor to today's turtle was about 8 inches long.

National
Science

How The Turtle Got Its Shell

3:12pm August 28, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The ribs of a 240 million-year-old fossil hold clues to how the first turtle shell evolved. And its skull shape seems closer to that of lizards and snakes than to an ancestor of dinosaurs and birds.

Queue Listen Now