A Male Lizard Mate With Female Lizard

 A male tegu opens its jaws and attempts to mate with a female lizard that's been dead for two days.

When A zoologist  went for a walk in the park in southeastern Brazil on a warm September day in 2013, he was hoping to find noteworthy animal behavior to study.

"I felt a sense of wonder," says zoologist who observed male tegus mating with a dead female.

But he did not expect to witness lizard necrophilia. Right in front of him, he saw a male reptile trying to court and mate with a dead female of the same species, Salvatore Marianne, commonly known as the black-and-white tegu.

A male lizard attempting to mate with a dead female lizard

A male tegu opens its jaws and attempts to mate wit.

I felt Surprised, because I did not observe this behavior in lizards before, only in frogs," He said, of the Zoology Museum of the University of Campinas in São Paulo.

Necrophilia occurs in other lizard species, but it's the first documented instance in black-and-white tegus, one of the most common lizards in South America.

He watched the male lizard flick his tongue at the deceased female—a common courtship behavior—and try to mate with her for about five minutes. Then a group of geese showed up, causing the confused suitor to flee. (See "Wild Romance: Weird Animal Courtship and Mating Rituals.")

The scientist returned to the same spot the next afternoon. By that time, the corpse was bloated and had begun to rot and smell.

But even the stench did not discourage another male black-and-white tegu from attempting to have sex with the dead body—this time for nearly an hour.

But he did not expect to witness lizard necrophilia. Right in front of him, he saw a male reptile trying to court and mate with a dead female of the same species, Salvator merianae, commonly known as the black-and-white tegu.

I felt a sense of wonder, because I did not observe this behavior in lizards before, only in frogs,"  He said  of the Zoology Museum of the University of Campinas in São Paulo.

Necrophilia occurs in other lizard species, but it's the first documented instance in black-and-white tegus, one of the most common lizards in South America.

He  male lizard flick his tongue at the deceased female—a common courtship behavior—and try to mate with her for about five minutes. Then a group of geese showed up, causing the confused suitor to flee. (See "Wild Romance: Weird Animal Courtship and Mating Rituals.")

The scientist returned to the same spot the next afternoon. By that time, the corpse was bloated and had begun to rot and smell.

But even the stench did not discourage another male black-and-white tegu from attempting to have sex with the dead body—this time for nearly an hour.

During this time, the new male embraced the dead female and bit her head, another courtship behavior. He rested on her body from time to time, taking breaks from the exhausting sexual activity, before finally flicking his tongue on the corpse and leaving, according to the study, published in January in the journal Herpetology Notes.