London, Jul 13 (IANS): Lizards can be every bit as clever as mammals and birds. They could learn how to solve novel problems, challenging the widely-held view that reptiles have limited brain power.

An experiment saw lizards placed on a wooden block with two wells, one of which contained a tasty bite and was covered by a tight-fitting blue lid.

Having first learned how to "recognise" the reward well from its appearance, four out of six lizards worked out how to dislodge its lid by biting or using their snouts, reports the journal Biology Letters.

Biolgist Manuel Leal of Duke University who led the study of Puerto Rican anoles, a species of green tropical lizard, said the results were "completely unexpected", according to the Daily Mail.

"They'd put their snout under the little plastic chip and then quickly bump it.
They don't do this in the wild," he said.

Even when both wells were covered by lids, the lizards targeted the right one.

Two lizards, named Plato and Socrates, were able to spot when scientists switched the reward to the other well, which was coloured blue and yellow.

The lizards solved the problem in three fewer attempts than birds typically needed, said Leal. Because they eat less than birds, they had only one chance a day to pass the test.

A lizard that made a mistake had until the next day to remember how to correct it. In contrast, birds taking part in similar tests were normally given up to six chances a day.