"This was a rare opportunity where we could watch evolution as it happened." While these two small, brown lizards diverged evolutionarily between 40 and 60 million years ago and evolved on ...

The region's shinnery oaks are only four or five feet high, but they provide food, shade and a breeding ground for the small, brown dunes sagebrush lizard — otherwise known as the sand dune lizard.

His team found that over time, brown anoles with longer legs had higher survival rates after the crested anoles showed up. Researchers also tested the finding at other lizard hot spots around ...