Smithsonian Channel Documentaries

Laws of the lizard (2018x17)

: 26, 2018

Biologists and wildlife filmmakers Nate Dappen and Neil Losin launch a year-long adventure in search of the secrets of an unassuming reptile. They travel to remote forests and tiny islands across the Caribbean and Latin America to uncover how a tiny reptile can reveal the fundamental rules of nature. Along with Washington University professor and godfather of modern anole research Jonathan Losos, Dappen and Losin investigate the astonishing evolution of this tiny creature - how anoles have followed the same evolutionary paths in different ecosystems, the sheer speed at which anoles can evolve to thrive on fast-changing islands and the surprising adaptations they have used to conquer new environments - including one species' never-before-filmed ability to breathe underwater. They also capture the first footage ever taken of a bizarre new species of anole discovered in the Dominican Republic.