The magazine "New Scientist" has released an article about lizards in Puerto Rican cities of Mayagüez that adapted themselves to the "new" urban environment. Those urban lizards are able to climb windows and walls of houses without any problem. The evolution made more adapted for their new living space.
The natural selection caused that those lizards which were due to mutations better adapted for the urban enviroment get catched less likely by predators because they can escape better. This new kind of Anole Lizard is faster on the underground in cities than those lizards that live in the forrests around the cities. "Urban areas are just another environment", says Kristin Winchell from the University of Massuchusetts Boston. This means that those lizards have to evolve in order to survive.
This new kind of lizards is not only better in escaping predators it also can reach more save places to get food or to rest. It can climb on undergrounds on which the other lizards who are used to live in the forrests not able to. This means that they are more likely to become older and pass on their genes. Those new anole lizards have longer limbs and more scale-like structures.
The natural selection caused that those lizards which were due to mutations better adapted for the urban enviroment get catched less likely by predators because they can escape better. This new kind of Anole Lizard is faster on the underground in cities than those lizards that live in the forrests around the cities. "Urban areas are just another environment", says Kristin Winchell from the University of Massuchusetts Boston. This means that those lizards have to evolve in order to survive.
This new kind of lizards is not only better in escaping predators it also can reach more save places to get food or to rest. It can climb on undergrounds on which the other lizards who are used to live in the forrests not able to. This means that they are more likely to become older and pass on their genes. Those new anole lizards have longer limbs and more scale-like structures.
The new urban anole liard really benefits from the mutation because they are better adapted for the urban regions. They probably aren't as good adapted as their relatives in the forest, but they definnitely have an advantage in cities. This urban anole lizard is very likely to become a new species of lizards, if they keep on evolving and adapting.
Source:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030721-700-lizard-gets-to-grips-with-city-life-by-evolving-stickier-feet/
Source:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030721-700-lizard-gets-to-grips-with-city-life-by-evolving-stickier-feet/