Greater earless lizards use their tail for all manner of things - but how has this shaped its evolution? We delve into this mystery and find out how horny toads (the lizards) cope with life at hot and cold extremes. Our Species of the Bi-Week is a colourful new desert dweller.

Ross McGibbon's 2021 calendar: https://bit.ly/3f93mgp 

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Main Paper References:

Gilbert, A. L., Brooks, O. L., & Lattanzio, M. S. (2020). Multiple behavioral contexts of a melanized tail display in a desert lizard. Ethology, 126(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12975

Parlin, A. F., Schaeffer, P. J., & Jezkova, T. (2020). Modelling the effect of environmental temperatures, microhabitat and behavioural thermoregulation on predicted activity patterns in a desert lizard across its thermally diverse distribution. Journal of Biogeography, January, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13936

Species of the Bi-Week:

Huamani-Valderrama, L., Quiroz, A., Gutiérrez, R., Aguilar-Kirigin, A., Huanca-Mamani, W., Valladares-Faundez, P., Cerdeña, J., Chaparro, J. C., Santa-Cruz, R., & Abdala, C. S. (2020). Some color in the desert: description of a new species of Liolaemus (Iguania : Liolaemidae) from southern Peru, and its conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 14(3), 1–30.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Outomuro, D., Söderquist, L., Nilsson‐Örtman, V., Cortázar‐Chinarro, M., Lundgren, C., & Johansson, F. (2016). Antagonistic natural and sexual selection on wing shape in a scrambling damselfly. Evolution, 70(7), 1582–1595. https ://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12951

Other Links/Mentions:

David, P., Vogel, G., & Dubois, A. (2011). On the need to follow rigorously the Rules of the Code for the subsequent designation of a nucleospecies (type species) for a nominal genus which lacked one: the case of the nominal genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae). Zootaxa, 2992(1), 1-51.

Hasson, O., Hibbard, R., & Ceballos, G. (1989). The pursuit deterrent function of tail‐wagging in the zebra‐tailed lizard (Callisaurus dra‐ conoides). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 67(5), 1203–1209. https://doi.org/10.1139/z89‐174

Outomuro, D., Söderquist, L., Nilsson‐Örtman, V., Cortázar‐Chinarro, M., Lundgren, C., & Johansson, F. (2016). Antagonistic natural and sexual selection on wing shape in a scrambling damselfly. Evolution, 70(7), 1582–1595. https ://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12951

Music:

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Mike Mooney

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com