Editing Lizard (section)

==Behaviour==

===[[Diurnality]] and [[thermoregulation#Behavioral temperature regulation|thermoregulation]]===
The majority of lizard species are [[Diurnality|active during the day]],<ref name="Pianka-Vitt86"/> though some are [[nocturnality|active at night]], notably geckos. As [[ectotherm]]s, lizards have a limited ability to regulate their body temperature, and must seek out and bask in sunlight to gain enough heat to become fully active.<ref>Pianka and Vitt, pp. 32–37.</ref> Thermoregulation behavior can be beneficial in the short term for lizards as it allows the ability to buffer environmental variation and endure climate warming.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Buckley |first1=Lauren B. |last2=Ehrenberger |first2=Joseph C. |last3=Angilletta |first3=Michael J. |date=2015 |title=Thermoregulatory behaviour limits local adaptation of thermal niches and confers sensitivity to climate change |journal=Functional Ecology |volume=29 |issue=8 |pages=1038–1047 |doi=10.1111/1365-2435.12406 |jstor=48577009 |issn=0269-8463|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015FuEco..29.1038B }}</ref>

In high altitudes, the [[Podarcis hispanicus|''Podarcis hispaniscus'']] responds to higher temperature with a darker dorsal coloration to prevent UV-radiation and background matching. Their thermoregulatory mechanisms also allow the lizard to maintain their ideal body temperature for optimal mobility.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ortega|first1=Jesús|last2=Martín|first2=José|last3=Crochet|first3=Pierre-André|last4=López|first4=Pilar|last5=Clobert|first5=Jean|date=2019-03-15|title=Seasonal and interpopulational phenotypic variation in morphology and sexual signals of Podarcis liolepis lizards|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=14|issue=3|pages=e0211686|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0211686|issn=1932-6203|pmc=6419997|pmid=30875384|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1411686O|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Territoriality===
[[File:Fighting Sand lizards (Lacerta agilis) 4295304.jpg|thumb|left|Fighting male [[sand lizards]]]]

Most social interactions among lizards are between breeding individuals.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt86">Pianka and Vitt, pp. 86.</ref> [[Territory (animal)|Territoriality]] is common and is correlated with species that use sit-and-wait hunting strategies. Males establish and maintain territories that contain resources that attract females and which they defend from other males. Important resources include basking, feeding, and nesting sites as well as refuges from predators. The habitat of a species affects the structure of territories, for example, rock lizards have territories atop rocky outcrops.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt94">Pianka and Vitt, pp. 94–106.</ref> Some species may aggregate in groups, enhancing vigilance and lessening the risk of predation for individuals, particularly for juveniles.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Lanham, E. J. |author2=Bull. M. C. |year=2004 |title=Enhanced vigilance in groups in ''Egernia stokesii'', a lizard with stable social aggregations |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=263 |issue=1 |pages=95–99 |doi=10.1017/S0952836904004923}}</ref> [[Agonistic behaviour]] typically occurs between sexually mature males over territory or mates and may involve displays, posturing, chasing, grappling and biting.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt94"/>

===Communication===
{{main|Lizard communication}}
[[File:Green anole.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2<!--width for low image-->|A green anole (''[[Anolis carolinensis]]'') [[signalling theory|signalling]] with its extended [[dewlap]]]]
Lizards signal both to attract mates and to intimidate rivals. Visual displays include body postures and inflation, push-ups, bright colours, mouth gapings and tail waggings. Male [[anole]]s and iguanas have [[dewlap]]s or skin flaps which come in various sizes, colours and patterns and the expansion of the dewlap as well as head-bobs and body movements add to the visual signals.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt87"/><ref name=Firefly/> Some species have deep blue dewlaps and communicate with [[ultraviolet]] signals.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt86"/> [[Blue-tongued skink]]s will flash their tongues as a [[threat display]].<ref name="Langley"/> Chameleons are known to change their complex colour patterns when communicating, particularly during agonistic encounters. They tend to show brighter colours when displaying aggression<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ligon |first1=Russell A. |last2=McGraw |first2=Kevin J. |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2013.0892 |title=Chameleons communicate with complex colour changes during contests: different body regions convey different information |journal=Biology Letters |volume=9|issue=6 |page=20130892 |year=2013 |pmid=24335271 |pmc=3871380}}</ref> and darker colours when they submit or "give up".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ligon |first1=Russell A |doi=10.1007/s00265-014-1713-z |title=Defeated chameleons darken dynamically during dyadic disputes to decrease danger from dominants |journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology |volume=68 |issue=6 |pages=1007–1017 |year=2014|bibcode=2014BEcoS..68.1007L |s2cid=18606633 }}</ref>

Several gecko species are brightly coloured; some species tilt their bodies to display their coloration. In certain species, brightly coloured males turn dull when not in the presence of rivals or females. While it is usually males that display, in some species females also use such communication. In the [[bronze anole]], head-bobs are a common form of communication among females, the speed and frequency varying with age and territorial status. Chemical cues or [[pheromone]]s are also important in communication. Males typically direct signals at rivals, while females direct them at potential mates. Lizards may be able to recognise individuals of the same species by their scent.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt87">Pianka and Vitt, pp. 87–94.</ref>

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Acoustic communication is less common in lizards. [[wikt:hiss|Hissing]], a typical reptilian sound, is mostly produced by larger species as part of a threat display, accompanying gaping jaws. Some groups, particularly geckos, snake-lizards, and some iguanids, can produce more complex sounds and vocal apparatuses have [[Convergent evolution|independently evolved]] in different groups. These sounds are used for courtship, territorial defense and in distress, and include clicks, squeaks, barks and growls. The mating call of the male [[tokay gecko]] [[onomatopoeia|is heard]] as "tokay-tokay!".<ref name="Langley">{{cite web|author=Langley, L.|date=24 October 2015|title=Are Lizards as Silent as They Seem?|publisher=news.nationalgeographic.com|access-date=9 July 2017|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151024-animal-behavior-lizards-reptiles-geckos-science-anatomy/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025213158/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151024-animal-behavior-lizards-reptiles-geckos-science-anatomy/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 25, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Pianka-Vitt87"/><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Frankenberg, E. |author2=Werner, Y. L. |year=1992|title= Vocal communication in the Reptilia–facts and questions|publisher=Acta Zoologica|volume=41|pages=45–62|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285079253}}</ref> Tactile communication involves individuals rubbing against each other, either in courtship or in aggression.<ref name="Pianka-Vitt87"/> Some chameleon species communicate with one another by vibrating the substrate that they are standing on, such as a tree branch or leaf.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Barnett, K. E.|author2=Cocroft, R. B.|author3=Fleishman, L. J.|year=1999|title=Possible communication by substrate vibration in a chameleon|journal=Copeia|volume=1999|issue=1|pages=225–228|url=http://www.biosci.missouri.edu/cocroft/Publications/RBC%20pubs/1999%20Cocroft%20Copeia.pdf|doi=10.2307/1447408|jstor=1447408|access-date=2017-07-11|archive-date=2021-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216044500/http://www.biosci.missouri.edu/cocroft/Publications/RBC%20pubs/1999%20Cocroft%20Copeia.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Defence===

Lizards are normally quick and agile to easily outrun attackers.<ref>{{cite book| title = Exploring Life Sciences| volume = 6|pages = 474-475|ISBN = 0-7614-7141-3|publisher = Marshall Cavendish}}</ref>