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Updated: Jun 10, 2026
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Assessing Spatial Learning and Memory in Small Squamate Reptiles
Published on: January 3, 2017
Is the Podarcis muralis lizard left-eye lateralised when exploring a new environment?
Davide Csermely1, Beatrice Bonati, Pilar Lopez
1Dipartimento di Biologia Evolutiva e Funzionale, Sez. Museo di Storia Naturale, Universitá di Parma, Via Farini 90, 43121 Parma, Italy. csermely@unipr.it
Laterality
|July 29, 2010
Summary
Common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) show visual lateralization, preferentially using their left eye for exploration and monitoring. This suggests right hemisphere control of these behaviors in reptiles.
Area of Science:
- Ethology
- Neuroscience
- Comparative Psychology
Background:
- Visual lateralization, the differential use of eyes, is common in ectotherms, potentially linked to their lateral eye position.
- This allows for simultaneous processing of different tasks by distinct visual systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate visual lateralization in exploratory and monitoring behaviors of the Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis).
- To determine if lizards exhibit a left-eye preference during novel environment exploration, suggesting right hemisphere control.
Main Methods:
- Wild Common wall lizards were tested in captivity in three experiments involving maze navigation and exiting an opaque box.
- Behavioral observations focused on turning biases and eye preference during exploration and task completion.
Main Results:
- Lizards displayed a significant left-turning bias in a maze, indicating right hemisphere visual control.
- In a T-maze, lizards preferred the left arm, and when exiting a box, showed a left-eye preference for head turns.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the hypothesis of right hemisphere mediation for exploratory and monitoring behaviors in Podarcis muralis.
- Results suggest a simultaneous control of anti-predatory/exploratory (left-eye) and predatory (right-eye) behaviors in this species.
