Body temperature of the lizard (Anolis carolinensis): effect of parietalectomy.
Thermal behavior of parietalectomized, sham-parietalectomized or intact lizards (Anolis carolinensis) was recorded in a test chamber containing moving photothermal gradients. Following parietalectomy, animals chose significantly higher temperatures than sham-parietalectomized or intact control animals, which chose lower and statistically identical temperatures. When pre-surgical and post-surgical means are compared within groups, the eccritic temperature was 2.10 degrees C higher following parietalectomy, 0.72 degrees C higher following sham-parietalectomy, and 0.31 degrees C higher in intact controls during the post-operative measurements. The effects of parietalectomy indicate that the parietalpineal complex may be involved in behavioral thermoregulation by precisely regulating exposure to heat sources (e.g. sunlight).
D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D005260:Female; D008027:Light; D008116:Lizards / Q000502:physiology*; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000502:physiology; D013696:Temperature