Mutating Lizards Rock Evolution by Developing New Scales, Claws to Cling to Smooth, Man-Made Surfaces as They Move to Cities

Lizards are good with evolution and do it faster than other species. According to a new report, the mutating lizards in Puerto Rico have developed new skills as they expand their territories to cities.

Mutating Lizards in Puerto Rico

Previous studies claim that evolution could take tens of millions of years. However, that is not the case in Puerto Rico, where lizards develop new physical features to deal with their new environment, Daily Star reported.

According to Kristin Winchell, a professor of biology at New York University in the US, they have watched the evolution of Puerto Rican lizards as it unfolds. In their new study, published in the scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they noted how crested anole (Anolis cristatellus) had developed new scales enabling it to cling to smoother surfaces like smooth walls and windows in towns and cities.

Aside from new scales, their legs tend to grow longer and appear to be stronger. They can dash across open areas without being caught by predators.

The team said the changes were taking place at the genetic level. Over 30 genes within the Anolis cristatellus genome are associated with urbanization.

Winchell added that if urban populations evolve with parallel physical and genomic changes, they might be able to predict how the population will respond to urbanization by simply looking at genetic markers.

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Lizards and Evolution

The lizards have an average life span of seven years, and they tracked the changes across 30 to 70 generations. Winchell said her team captured almost a hundred lizards for the study with their hands or fishing poles with a tiny lasso to snag them.

She joked that it takes some practice to catch one. But the team made it, and several scientists praised their work.

According to Wouter Halfwerk, an evolutionary ecologist and professor at Vrije University Amsterdam, identifying evolution in action is nearly impossible. He added that the goal is to find evidence for heritable traits and genomic architecture within the field of urban adaptive, and Winchell's team accomplished it.

Lizards Can Adapt Rapidly to New Environment

According to National Geographic, while it takes millions of years for other species to evolve, lizards don't have to wait that long. In 1971, five adult pairs of Italian wall lizards were moved from Pod Kopiste to their tiny neighboring island of Pod Mrcaru, both in the south Adriatic Sea.

After just a few decades, they noticed that the 5-inch-long lizards had developed a completely new gut structure, larger heads, and a harder bite, according to researchers.

Genetic testing in Mrcaru lizards showed that the modern population of more than 5,000 Italian wall lizards are all descendants of the original 10 lizards transferred to the island in the 1970s.

Lizards' adaptability is unquestionable. According to Ecology & Evolution, with their long history of evolution, they have developed numerous skills, including gliding, swimming, surviving deserts, living high in forest canopies, climbing smooth surfaces, and running over water.