Research reveals the biological meaning of tail motion signals in Qinghai sand lizards

Male Qinghai Sand Lizard
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Female Qinghai Sand Lizard
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Qinghai sand lizard is a good model for studying the biological meaning of action signals
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So, what information does the action signal reflect? So that individuals can interpret each other's strengths through motion signals?

Under the joint guidance of researcher Fu Jinzhong and associate researcher Qi Yin, Qiu Xia, a doctoral student in the Animal Behavior and Bionics Project Group of the Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed the physical condition and the quality of the cave through field control experiments and 3D signal quantification methods.
The biological meaning of the tail movement of the Qinghai sand lizard
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The results show that: First, the male's tail curling speed and tail flicking amplitude can reflect the individual's running speed and body size information.
The faster the tail curling speed, the faster the individual with the greater the tail flicking amplitude, and the larger the individual ; For females, the curling amplitude can reflect the size of the individual, and the larger the curling tail is, the larger the size of the individual; second, the male's tail flicking speed can reflect the quality of the individual's cave, and the faster the tail flicking the individual has the shallower In this respect, it can meet the needs of avoiding natural enemies and is more conducive to body temperature regulation.
For females, the speed and amplitude of the curling tail can reflect the size of the individual's hole.
The faster the curling tail, the larger the female cave opening.

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The study revealed that the Qinghai sand lizard can reflect the individual's physical condition and cave quality through the speed and amplitude of its tail movement.
This information helps to alleviate the social conflicts between individuals and the assessment of mates.
Lay the foundation for the analysis of genetic evolution
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Qi Yin is the corresponding author of the paper, and Qiu Xia is the first author of the paper.
The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
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Related paper information: https://doi.