At a minimum, fighting costs males time and energy. Brawling can also cause serious injury or worse, notes study co-author Jose Martin, a biologist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid.
By communicating the likely outcome of a brawl ahead of time, lizards big and small save themselves the trouble of an actual bout. As for evenly matched lizards, well, bring it on.
Studies have shown that scent mediates brawls in some fashion in other animals, including cockroaches, lobsters, crayfish, salamanders, mice, and rabbits.
But such behavior tends to be the exception, rather than the rule, Martin contend. Scientists often study visual displays and overlook the significant role played by chemical cues, he adds.
"Humans seem not quite aware of the importance of scent even for their own social relationships," Martin said via email.
"I think that the new findings in this 'sensory channel' could give us a more rich and diverse understanding of how social signals and social behavior evolve."
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