The new robot runs across an uneven surface in a way modeled off a zebra-tailed lizard. Image courtesy of Chen Li, Tingnan Zhang, Daniel Goldman Designing a robot that can easily move across loose ...

Zebra-tailed lizards, in contrast, are thriving in hotter low-elevation areas. The researchers spotted many of them darting between bushes.

In work to appear in The Journal of Experimental Biology, the team shows that the zebra-tailed lizard exploits the fluid-like properties of sand in much the same way.

Apparently the eight-acre size of my "accidental preserve" is sufficient. There seems to be a full complement, if not abundance, of small rodents and lizards. I even found a snake track in the sand.

William H. Karasov, Roger A. Anderson, Correlates of Average Daily Metabolism of Field‐Active Zebra‐Tailed Lizards (Callisaurus draconoides), Physiological Zoology, Vol. 71, No. 1 (January/February ...

Zebra-tailed lizards run across sand at an impressive clip, barely losing speed as the sand gets soft. The gecko is not so lucky; for it, soft sand makes for a hard trudge.

In work to appear in The Journal of Experimental Biology, the team shows that the zebra-tailed lizard exploits the fluid-like properties of sand in much the same way.