Lizards | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/lizards/RSS feed for LizardsenTue, 30 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000Eight Fascinating Scientific Discoveries From 2025 That Could Lead to New Inventionshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/eight-fascinating-scientific-discoveries-from-2025-that-could-lead-to-new-inventions-180987916/By studying the natural world, scientists find blueprints for innovations that can improve human lives—in the genes of a shark, the fur of a polar bear and the flipper of an extinct reptileTue, 30 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/eight-fascinating-scientific-discoveries-from-2025-that-could-lead-to-new-inventions-180987916/Iguanas Are Native, Not Invasive, on This Mexican Island, DNA Study Suggests, Rewriting Conservation Ideashttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/iguanas-are-native-not-invasive-on-this-mexican-island-dna-study-suggests-rewriting-conservation-ideas-180987653/The spiny-tailed iguanas of Clarion Island predate human presence in the Americas by tens of thousands of years, researchers sayFri, 07 Nov 2025 18:39:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/iguanas-are-native-not-invasive-on-this-mexican-island-dna-study-suggests-rewriting-conservation-ideas-180987653/These 'Pirate Lizards' Thrive With Three Legshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-pirate-lizards-thrive-with-three-legs-180987549/A new study finds that many lizards with missing limbs fare surprisingly well despite their impairmentTue, 21 Oct 2025 18:58:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-pirate-lizards-thrive-with-three-legs-180987549/Ig Nobel Prizes Honor Fingernails, Painted Cows and Cacio e Pepe in a Celebration of Strange Sciencehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ig-nobel-prizes-honor-fingernails-painted-cows-and-cacio-e-pepe-in-a-celebration-of-strange-science-180987381/Ten research projects earned awards for achievements that have made people "laugh, then think"Mon, 22 Sep 2025 20:56:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ig-nobel-prizes-honor-fingernails-painted-cows-and-cacio-e-pepe-in-a-celebration-of-strange-science-180987381/'Once in a Lifetime': Rare 'Virgin Birth' of Eight Iguana Babies Surprises Zookeepers in Englandhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-in-a-lifetime-rare-virgin-birth-of-eight-iguana-babies-surprises-zookeepers-in-england-180987315/A female casque-headed iguana produced live hatchlings even though she has never shared an enclosure with a maleWed, 10 Sep 2025 18:22:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/once-in-a-lifetime-rare-virgin-birth-of-eight-iguana-babies-surprises-zookeepers-in-england-180987315/These Lizards Have So Much Lead in Their Blood, They Should Be Dead. Instead, They're Thrivinghttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-lizards-have-so-much-lead-in-their-blood-they-should-be-dead-instead-theyre-thriving-180987224/Brown anoles around New Orleans have the highest blood concentrations of lead ever recorded in vertebrates—and scientists aren't sure why they can survive itFri, 22 Aug 2025 20:21:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-lizards-have-so-much-lead-in-their-blood-they-should-be-dead-instead-theyre-thriving-180987224/Scientists Discover Australian Lizards Have Mutations to Resist Snake Venom—and One Day, That Could Help Humanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-discover-australian-lizards-have-mutations-to-resist-snake-venom-and-one-day-that-could-help-humans-180987120/A new study looking at how skinks have evolved to block venom from reaching their muscles could guide development of new antivenomsWed, 06 Aug 2025 20:01:39 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-discover-australian-lizards-have-mutations-to-resist-snake-venom-and-one-day-that-could-help-humans-180987120/Small, Secretive Gecko Rediscovered in the Galápagos After Scientists Eliminate Invasive Ratshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/small-secretive-gecko-rediscovered-in-the-galapagos-after-scientists-eliminate-invasive-rats-180987072/Researchers thought leaf-toed geckos were locally extinct on Rábida Island, so they were thrilled to find several of the lizards alive and well during 2019 and 2021 expeditionsTue, 29 Jul 2025 18:33:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/small-secretive-gecko-rediscovered-in-the-galapagos-after-scientists-eliminate-invasive-rats-180987072/These Odd Bony Structures Were Hiding Beneath the Skin of Far More Lizards Than Thought, Researchers Findhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-odd-bony-structures-were-hiding-beneath-the-skin-of-far-more-lizards-than-thought-researchers-find-180987023/Called osteoderms, the chain mail-like plates may have helped some species adapt to Australia’s harsh environmentTue, 22 Jul 2025 19:22:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-odd-bony-structures-were-hiding-beneath-the-skin-of-far-more-lizards-than-thought-researchers-find-180987023/A Paleontologist Matched Two Halves of the Same Fossil Stored at Different Museums—and Discovered a New Specieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-paleontologist-matched-two-halves-of-the-same-fossil-stored-at-different-museums-and-discovered-a-new-species-180986974/Meet Sphenodraco scandentis, a tree-dwelling, lizard-like reptile that roamed around with the dinosaurs during the Late Jurassic period roughly 145 million years agoFri, 11 Jul 2025 21:13:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-paleontologist-matched-two-halves-of-the-same-fossil-stored-at-different-museums-and-discovered-a-new-species-180986974/