育幼行为在哺乳类和鸟类中很常见，而在爬行类动物中却非常稀有。生活于青藏高原的蜥蜴物种，如何度过漫长而寒冷的冬季是幼体面临的最大挑战，而幼体的存活率是衡量成体繁殖适合度的关键指标。
中科院成都生物研究所傅金钟课题组齐银博士假设，蜥蜴成体会采取一定方式的育幼行为来帮助幼体越冬，例如在严寒的冬季允许幼体和自己同穴过冬。研究结果部分支持了假设，青海沙蜥的确采取洞穴“共享”的办法越冬，共享的方式有四种类型：雌性+幼体，雄性+幼体，雄性+雌性+幼体，幼体+幼体。其中，雌性+幼体占绝大多数。
但值得注意的是，同一洞穴中的蜥蜴并不是父子或母子或兄弟关系，他们只是一种非亲缘的合作关系。
该研究成果发表于PloS ONE。英国New Scientist杂志网站也对该研究进行了报道。（生物谷Bioon.com）
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041130
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Spatial and Social Organization in a Burrow-Dwelling Lizard (Phrynocephalus vlangalii) from China
Yin Qi, Daniel W. A. Noble, Jinzhong Fu, Martin J. Whiting
Shared ecological resources such as burrow complexes can set the stage for social groupings and the evolution of more complex social behavior such as parental care. Paternity testing is increasingly revealing cases of kin-based groupings, and lizards may be a good system to inform on the early evolution of sociality. We examined spatial and social organization in the lizard Phrynocephalus vlangalii from China and tested genetic relatedness (based on eight microsatellite DNA loci) between offspring and parents that shared burrow complexes. Adult males and females had similar spatial patterns: they overlapped most with members of the opposite sex and least with their own sex. Males in better body condition overlapped with more females, and both sexes showed high site fidelity. Most lizards used a single burrow, but some individuals used two or three burrows. While high site fidelity is consistent with sociality in lizards, juveniles did not preferentially share burrows with parents, and we documented only a few cases of parent–offspring associations through burrow sharing. We suggest that P. vlangalii conforms to a classical polygynous mating system in which the burrow forms the core of the male's territory and may be offered as an important resource for females, but this remains to be determined.
