When Lizards Do Push-Ups

Abstract

Much as birds chirp their threats and come-ons and commentaries, sagebrush lizards in the western United States communicate through little flex fests. Both male and female lizards rise off their bellies and bob up and down, quick as a recruit slamming into the ground at the feet of a bellowing marine sergeant. During the past decade, Emilia P. Martins of the University of Oregon in Eugene has led a search to decode sagebrush lizard athletics. They're incredibly complex, she marvels. Depending on the details, a set of push-ups may indicate something like Get your presumptuous rear off my rock this instant or Be mine, you gorgeous creature. The nuances of all this bobbing and flexing give scientists another world of communication to explore, with intriguing comparisons to bird songs and bee dances. The latest work from Martins and her colleagues shows regional differences in push-up styles, a bit like dialects in human speech. The lizards in California have a special athletic flamboyance that may help scientists observe how one species splits into two. All in all, it gets pretty deep for a push-up.