Side-blotched lizards have a colourful set of mating strategies. Some males, with orange throats, are large and bully their way to a harem of mates. Others, with blue throats, are a bit smaller and bond with just a single female. And then there is a third type. These lizards, which have yellow throats, look very similar to females. In a rock-paper-scissors-type mating strategy, the big orange ones can chase off the medium blue ones, who, in turn, can keep a close eye on their single mate. The yellow ones, however, sometimes sneak into the big males’ harems. Biologists affectionately call such lizards “sneaky fuckers”.
Source:
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