Editing Lizard (section)

===Senses===

Lizards make use of their [[sense]]s of [[sight]], [[touch]], [[olfaction]] and [[hearing]] like other [[vertebrate]]s. The balance of these varies with the habitat of different species; for instance, skinks that live largely covered by loose soil rely heavily on olfaction and touch, while geckos depend largely on acute vision for their ability to hunt and to evaluate the distance to their prey before striking. Monitor lizards have acute vision, hearing, and olfactory senses. Some lizards make unusual use of their sense organs: chameleons can steer their eyes in different directions, sometimes providing non-overlapping fields of view, such as forwards and backwards at once. Lizards lack external ears, having instead a circular opening in which the tympanic membrane (eardrum) can be seen. Many species rely on hearing for early warning of predators, and flee at the slightest sound.<ref name=Wilson2012>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Steve |title=Australian Lizards: A Natural History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NXg0N_vm2W4C&pg=PA65 |year=2012 |publisher=Csiro Publishing |isbn=978-0-643-10642-0 |pages=65–74}}</ref>
[[File:Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus) (16545024096).jpg|thumb|right|Nile monitor using its tongue for smell]]
As in snakes and many mammals, all lizards have a specialised olfactory system, the [[vomeronasal organ]], used to detect [[pheromone]]s. Monitor lizards transfer scent from the tip of their tongue to the organ; the tongue is used only for this information-gathering purpose, and is not involved in manipulating food.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Frasnelli, J.|display-authors=etal|title=The vomeronasal organ is not involved in the perception of endogenous odors |journal=Hum. Brain Mapp. |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=450–60 |date=2011 |pmid=20578170 |pmc=3607301 |doi=10.1002/hbm.21035}}</ref><ref name=Wilson2012/>
[[File:Bearded Dragon Skeleton.jpg|thumb|Skeleton of bearded dragon ([[pogona]] sp.) on display at the [[Museum of Osteology]].]]
Some lizards, particularly iguanas, have retained a photosensory organ on the top of their heads called the [[parietal eye]], a [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] ("primitive") feature also present in the [[tuatara]]. This "eye" has only a rudimentary retina and lens and cannot form images, but is sensitive to changes in light and dark and can detect movement. This helps them detect predators stalking it from above.<ref>{{citation | last = Brames | first = Henry | title = Aspects of Light and Reptile Immunity | journal = Iguana: Conservation, Natural History, and Husbandry of Reptiles | volume = 14 | issue = 1 | year = 2007 | pages = 19–23 | url = http://www.ircf.org/downloads/wwdigitalmembers/Iguana_14-1web.pdf }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>