The evolution of reptilian social behavior
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1974 |
Authors: |
BH. Brattstrom |
Publication/Journal: |
American Zoologist |
Keywords: |
amphibians, ancestry, behavior, behavior diversity, evolutionary heritage, fish, harems, hierarchial, increased aggressi, lizards, postures, reptiles, sequences, social behavior, social interaction, sociality, specific to ecological setting, territorial |
Abstract:
Reptiles display a diversity of behavior that is reflective of their evolutionary heritage from fish and amphibians and their ancestral contribution to the diversity found in birds and mammals. Much of the behavior observed in reptiles seems specific to the ecological setting within which they live. As a result, a diversity of behavior is found in each of the groups of modern reptiles. Recent studies on the social behavior of lizards have proved them capable of a variety of behavioral postures, sequences, and sociality that exceeds that found in some mammals and birds. While many species of lizards are territorial, others are hierarchial and some have harems. For all those territorial species studied, crowding results in increased social interaction, increased aggression, and a switch to hierarchial behavior.