Young male lizards in South Africa imitate females to fool older males into leaving them alone, in an example of transvestism in the natural world, researchers have found.
The lizards not only avoid fights but gain access to females under the nose of their more macho rivals.
They found that young male Augrabies flat lizards delayed displaying the extravagant colors of mature males until they were able to defend themselves.
PHOTO: AFP
“Experienced males will chase and bite their young rivals,” said associate professor Martin Whiting of Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand.
“By delaying the onset of color to a more convenient period, these males, termed she-males, are making the best of a bad situation.”
Australian National University associate professor Scott Keogh said becoming transvestites for a period offered young males two advantages.
“They can avoid dangerous fights with strong males and still have access to females,” he said.
But, as with large hands and an Adam’s apple in the human world, there is a problem with the lizards’ transvestite transformation.
Dominant males can detect transvestite’s male hormones with their tongues, even if they are fooled by their female appearance.
University of Sydney researcher Jonathan Webb said this meant the she-males needed to be nimble to avoid males who think they are females.
“Males are fooled by looks, but not by smell,” he said.
“She-males are able to maintain this deception by staying one step ahead of a male, and thereby avoiding a nosey tongue that might give the game away.”
The research was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.(AFP)
研究學者發現，南非的幼年雄蜥蜴會偽裝成雌性以躲避成年雄蜥蜴的侵擾，這是自然界中「異裝癖」的實例。
幼年蜥蜴這樣做不僅可以躲避眼前強壯對手的攻擊，還能接近雌蜥蜴。
研究學者發現，成年雄性扁身環尾蜥的外表呈現極度鮮艷的色彩，而幼年蜥蜴會延遲這項轉變，直到牠們足以抵抗對手，才會現出「男兒本色」。
約翰尼斯堡韋瓦特斯朗大學的馬汀．懷丁副教授說：「老練的雄蜥蜴會追咬幼小的對手。」
「將變色時間延後到更合宜的時期，讓這些『偽性』雄蜥蜴得以在困境中尋求生機。」
澳洲國立大學副教授史考特．基奧說，男扮女裝一段時間對幼年雄蜥蜴有兩個好處。
他說：「牠們可以避開和強壯雄蜥蜴的打鬥，又能接近雌蜥。」
然而，就像人類世界中，男性擁有手掌大及喉結的特徵一樣，這些蜥蜴的變裝還有破綻。
即便體型較佔優勢的雄蜥蜴被變裝雄蜥的雌性外觀所騙，牠們還是可以用舌頭偵測出牠們的雄性荷爾蒙。
雪梨大學的研究學者強納森．偉博說，這表示這些偽性雄蜥必須夠敏銳才能躲開那些誤以為牠們是雌蜥蜴的雄蜥。
他說：「雄蜥會被外觀欺矇，但氣味卻騙不了牠們。」
「偽性雄蜥只要保持在一步之外，就能騙過成年雄蜥，不會被牠們用以舌頭的嗅覺揭穿這場騙局。」
這項研究刊登在《皇家學會會報》。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
After the death of Pope Francis on April 21, the Vatican’s papal conclave on May 8 elected a new leader for the Catholic Church. Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost, who chose to be called Leo XIV, became the 267th pope, spiritual leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. But what exactly does a pope do? Here is a rundown of his main responsibilities. CATHOLIC LEADER The word pope comes from the Greek “pappas,” meaning “father, patriarch,” which is why believers call him the Holy Father. He is considered the successor of St Peter, to whom Jesus Christ is said to have entrusted
Have you ever wondered who decides what we see in a museum or how one artwork seamlessly connects to the next? Behind every thoughtfully arranged gallery space stands a curator, a skilled professional who combines art and storytelling to craft meaningful experiences. The term “curator” originates from the Latin word cura, meaning “to care.” Curators were originally caretakers of museum collections, but over time, their role has grown to include a broad range of responsibilities that extend far beyond preservation. Today, curators manage, organize and interpret collections in cultural institutions like museums and libraries. They research, acquire and catalogue
A: The 2025 World Masters Games will begin on May 17 and run until May 30. B: World Masters Games? A: It’s a quadrennial multi-sport event for people over 30, which will be jointly held by Taipei and New Taipei City. B: Cool, maybe we can go cheer for all the athletes from home and abroad. A: There will be an athletes’ parade in downtown Taipei prior to the opening ceremony on Saturday. Let’s go then. A: 2025雙北世界壯年運動會5月17日開幕，持續至5月30日閉幕。 B: 世壯運？ A: 這是四年一度、以30歲以上青壯年為主的運動會，本屆是由台北市和新北市共同舉辦。 B: 好酷喔，我們去幫來自國內外的選手們加油吧！ A: 週六在台北市區會有選手遊行，之後是開幕典禮，我們去看吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
Continued from yesterday（延續自昨日） https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang However, not every toy has its moment. Some fans were __8__ that simple classics like balloons—a universal symbol of celebrations—haven’t made the cut yet. With their lightweight charms and transformative puffs of air, balloons have __9__ millions for decades and will have to wait at least another year for a chance to be inducted. As the Toy Hall of Fame continues to celebrate toys that __10__ creativity and joy, we can only wonder which treasures will earn a spot next. Will the widely adored balloon finally take its place in 2025? Only time will tell, but one thing is
RSS