成年沙漠石龍子是蜥蜴世界中的“居家男人”,。
這種澳大利亞的爬行動物（Liopholis kintorei）會挖掘結構復雜的地洞,，澳大利亞北萊德市麥考瑞大學的Steve McAlpin和同事如今發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些避難所與它們的家庭成員息息相關,，其修建的時間甚至可以長達7年,。
這些錯綜復雜的隧道網絡能夠橫跨13米的距離，其特征是入口很多,，并且將蜥蜴用來排泄的公共廁所設計在外圍區(qū)域,。
通過捕捉這些蜥蜴并剪斷一小段尾巴用于脫氧核糖核酸（DNA）分析，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn),，成年沙漠石龍子會在同一個洞穴中與它們很多代的子孫生活在一起,。
研究人員在5月11日的《科學公共圖書館—綜合》（PLoS One）網絡版上報告說，石龍子父母和兄弟姐妹都會為家園的修建與維護作出貢獻,。
盡管許多鳥類和哺乳動物也會表現(xiàn)出這樣的合作行為,，但這是第一次有報告說蜥蜴會共同修建自己的家園。
沙漠石龍子非常忠于自己的伴侶,，這或許也有助于解釋為什么它們的家庭會聯(lián)系得如此緊密,。
這一發(fā)現(xiàn)可能支持了這樣一種假設，即合作行為是從由在遺傳學角度上有關聯(lián)的個體構成的群體中進化而來的,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
PLoS ONE 6(5): e19041. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019041
Lizards Cooperatively Tunnel to Construct a Long-Term Home for Family Members
Steve McAlpin, Paul Duckett, Adam Stow*
Abstract
Constructing a home to protect offspring while they mature is common in many vertebrate groups, but has not previously been reported in lizards. Here we provide the first example of a lizard that constructs a long-term home for family members, and a rare case of lizards behaving cooperatively. The great desert skink, Liopholis kintorei from Central Australia, constructs an elaborate multi-tunnelled burrow that can be continuously occupied for up to 7 years. Multiple generations participate in construction and maintenance of burrows. Parental assignments based on DNA analysis show that immature individuals within the same burrow were mostly full siblings, even when several age cohorts were present. Parents were always captured at burrows containing their offspring, and females were only detected breeding with the same male both within- and across seasons. Consequently, the individual investments made to construct or maintain a burrow system benefit their own offspring, or siblings, over several breeding seasons.
