Abstract
A study conducted by Eric Pianka, an evolutionary ecologist at the University of Texas in Austin and Laurie Vitt at the University of Oklahoma to find out if the number of niches is limited to species. The pair looked at 134 species of lizards on 4 continents and examined more 50 features of their niches, such as habitat, type, hunting style, reproductive output and defenses against predators. Over and over, they saw pairs of unrelated lizards converge on similar niches. Of the 134 species, 100 belonged to a convergent pair, more than could have happened by chance and adds that chameleons in Africa have American equivalents called bush anoles, and Australia's--thorny devil fills the same niche as North America's horned lizards.
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