14 DAY TRIAL // Having taken the time to study two distinct populations of winged lizards in South-East Asia, researchers found that, when gliding through the air, these creatures very much resemble red and greed arrowheads.
In a report in the journal Biology Letters, the wildlife specialists detail that, of the lizard populations they studied, one inhabits coastal mangrove forests on the island of Borneo. The other lives on the same patch of land but in lowland rainforest, Science Daily explains.
Despite the fact that they belong to the same species, i.e. Draco cornutus, which is found all throughout South-East Asia, lizards belonging to these two distinct communities look quite different from one another, at least when it comes to the color of their body.
The Draco cornutus lizards found in mangrove forests have wing-like gliding membranes colored in red. Their relatives populating lowland rainforests on the island of Borneo, on the other hand, have dark brown and green gliding membranes.
Wildlife researchers believe that these differences are due to the fact that the two populations have evolved to match the color of their surroundings. Hence, when gliding around minding their own business, they look like airborne dead leaves.
“It's a cool finding because these gliding lizards are matching the colours of falling leaves and not the leaves that are still attached to the tree. This allows them to mimic a moving part of the environment- falling leaves,” says specialist Danielle Klomp.
Researchers suspect that the two Draco cornutus populations on the island of Borneo evolved to have different body colors in order to avoid being spotted and captured by the predators they share their habitat with. This form of adaptation is known as divergent evolution.
