Produced by: Day's Edge Productions for Smithsonian Channel
Finalist In: Science of Life
In our quest to uncover the laws of nature, scientists are discovering big answers from a tiny source: a charming little lizard that can be found in any backyard in the tropics. The new Smithsonian Channel documentary, Laws of the Lizard, follows award-winning filmmakers Nate Dappen and Neil Losin as they discover why the fascinating anole lizards might hold the key to understanding the past, present, and future of life on Earth.
On their year-long journey through the American tropics, from tiny Bahamian Islands and Caribbean rainforests to metropolitan Miami and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Nate and Neil encounter remarkable lizards and capture species and behaviors that have never been filmed before. They also meet some of the world’s top biologists, including the man at the center of the anole lizard universe, Harvard University professor Jonathan Losos.
Laws of the Lizard tells the surprising story of anoles – how they spread through Latin America and the Caribbean, conquered every possible habitat, and diversified into hundreds of species – and what they tell us about other species and ecosystems around the world.
