WETA Working on Robotic Lizard For Science

Roland Piquepaille writes "The tuatara, which is both related to lizards and snakes, is one of the planet's oldest reptile species. It's been living in New Zealand for about 200 million years. Scientists still don't know much about their behavior, so they've asked Weta Workshop, a Wellington-based company known for its work on 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, to build a robotic male tuatara. It is equipped with cameras which will help the researchers to discover how real male tuatara attract and keep females. The goal is to help conservation managers to the genetically fittest, most productive males. But what will happen if a female tuatara discovers that the robot is an impostor?"

A Female?

[fractalVisionz]

Wouldn't they want to use a female to learn about male behavior instead of a male. Yes, with a male they can do aggression tests with robot vs. animal. However, with a female that attracts males, they can see real animals vs. animal aggression and behavior.

Short Treatise On Lizard Dominances

[shawn443]

lizard bar + lizard booze + sexy lizard whore = some bad ass lizard dominance.

The're not lizards!

[kithrup]

The tuatara isn't actually a lizard (any more than a crocodile is). They're pretty neat reptiles -- as a poster notes below, they have a "third eye" (they're not unique in this regard, some iguana species do as well, but not as well-developed as the tuatara's) -- and they require cold temperatures. Non-New Zealand zoos that get tuatara have to have triple cooling methods.

Re:Er...how?

[drinkypoo]

But really- what about all the chemical signatures? Hormones, pheromones, various smells, etc.

It seems you missed something important. Like the fact that the point of this is to learn something about its behavior. They will find out if that shit is even important. I could make an argument for it going either way. My parrot tries to hump me, and I'm not even the same goddamned species, so who knows what they will find.