Taste discrimination in a lizard (Anolis carolinensis, polychrotidae)

The question of whether lizards possess a sense of taste and are able to us e it to discriminate between prey items has been debated in the literature for several decades. This study provides evidence that some lizards indeed do use gustation to discriminate between prey items. In laboratory choice e xperiments, the lizard Anolis carolinensis discriminated between untreated crickets and crickets treated with either dextrose/aspartame powder (produc es sweet sensation in humans) or quinine hydrochloride (QHCl) solution or p owder (bitter sensation in humans). Although some of the lizards showed a s trong preference for crickets treated with dextrose/aspartame powder, all l izards generally avoided prey items treated with QHCl, This avoidance is no t affected when access to the vomeronasal organ is blocked. During this stu dy, lizards readily associated taste with color.