Article

2006-11-18 Caribbean-Latin America

'Lizard Isles' reveal natural selection at work

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Posted by phil_b 2006-11-18 00:14|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Some people know how to write research grants!

Posted by gromgoru 2006-11-18 07:13|| 2006-11-18 07:13|| Front Page Top

#2 I wonder how they hid the rum funds in the grant application.

Posted by Carl in N.H. 2006-11-18 07:26|| 2006-11-18 07:26|| Front Page Top

#3 Now introduce some Paleos to the island - and check back in a few ~~years~~ ~~decades~~ ~~generations~~ millenia.

One thing is certain - they won't evolve to climb trees. So as a predator, they're doomed - without technology from outside, they won't be able to chop down the trees or blow them up, either.

As prey there are a couple more possible evolutionary tracks that could emerge... they could be eaten by the Leiocephalus carinatus within days - marching around makes them easy targets - or they could mate with them, assuming the lizards could bear the thought. Either would kill off the Leiocephalus carinatus, just two different types of poisoning.

Posted by .com 2006-11-18 07:38|| 2006-11-18 07:38|| Front Page Top

#4 One interesting sagrei lizard (Elmer) has devloped what looks surprisingly like a shutter gun.

Demonstrating that cold-blooded animals often come to the same solution to the same problem.

Posted by Shipman 2006-11-18 10:52|| 2006-11-18 10:52|| Front Page Top

#5 While all this funding is flowing to lizard land to examine this, there is a huge cry here in the northwest for "something, anything," to be done about the disaster that is the barred owl swooping in, all by itself mind you, and decimating the spotted owls that also swooped in, uninvited and caused the single winged (can't say single handed, since they don't have any) destruction of the timber industry.
i vote we export PETA member to thse pacific islands where the Komato Dragons live and then check back in a couple years and see if they grew longer (faster) legs or shorter ( tree climbing) ones. Or (hopefully) none of the above.

Posted by USN, ret. 2006-11-18 12:41|| 2006-11-18 12:41|| Front Page Top

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