You Are Where You Live
Many lizard species utilize different microhabitats such as logs, leaf litter, rocks, trees, and man made objects. It is well tested in many animals including lizards that, their bodies evolve to give them the best bodies to survive in their habitats.
However, Herrel et al argued in their 2001 paper, that they hadn’t been enough research for lizards at the population level (different groups of lizards of the same species in different places) to tell us how body morphology (the way the body is shaped) differences supported different populations based on the microhabitats they use. This study looked at four populations of Urosaurus ornatus across Arizona. Based on previous research they expected to see:
Lizards occupying smooth, vertical habitats would benefit from a flat body and head, and short limbs.
Tree-dwellers with narrow, elongate bodies, long tails and relatively short limbs.
Boulder occupying lizards with long hind limbs, and short forelimbs and tails.
Low rock dwelling lizards with a flat body and long hindlimbs.
After catching at least 10 lizards in each of their four locations, they found that there were correlations between the lizard’s body morphology and their microhabitat use. More research should be done however, this kind of study helps us to better understand the evolutionary process because it is the smallest level of evolution that can be detected and studied.
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