On sensing predators, developing delicate skinks (Lampropholis delicata, pictured) burst from their eggs and, in one fluid motion, sprint about 40 centimetres and dive for cover.
Sean Doody and Phillip Paull at Monash University in Clayton, Australia, poked, pinched and dropped skink eggs to simulate predator attacks. The duo found that threatened embryos escape their eggs several days earlier than unperturbed siblings. However, hatching early comes with a cost. Compared with spontaneously hatching skinks, hatchlings under threat leave more yolk behind and their bodies are about 4% shorter.
Although similar behaviour has been reported in amphibians, fish and invertebrates, this is the first report of reptiles hatching early in response to perceived predation.
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Lizards hatch early to flee. Nature 496, 140 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/496140a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/496140a
