Evolution has been caught in the act, according to scientists who are decoding how a species of Australian lizard is abandoning egg-laying in favor of live birth.

Along the warm coastal lowlands of New South Wales (map), the yellow-bellied three-toed skink lays eggs to reproduce. But individuals of the same species living in the state's higher, colder mountains are almost all giving birth to live young.

Only two other modern reptiles—another skink species and a European lizard—use both types of reproduction. (Related: "Virgin Birth Expected at Christmas—By Komodo Dragon.")

Evolutionary records shows that nearly a hundred reptile lineages have independently made the transition from egg-laying to live birth in the past, and today about 20 percent of all living snakes and lizards give birth to live young only.

(See "Oldest Live-Birth Fossil Found; Fish Had Umbilical Cord.")

But modern reptiles that have live young provide only a single snapshot on a long evolutionary time line, said study co-author James Stewart, a biologist at East Tennessee State University. The dual behavior of the yellow-bellied three-toed skink therefore offers scientists a rare opportunity.

"By studying differences among populations that are in different stages of this process, you can begin to put together what looks like the transition from one [birth style] to the other."

Read more here

fascinating stuff!
thanks for posting!

This is old and we went through it before. a few years ago here on VGC (I don't blame you AndresPetMonkey because u wasnt member then). The exact article. And we came to the conclusion that calling it evolution in action was hyperbole.

Whoa sorry I didn't realise it was so old. Saw it on the frontpage of reddit and assumed it was new.

Well there it is religious fanatics.

How strange that it made up to Reddit frontpage after such a long time. I wish I could dig up our discussion about this from back then because it was a detailed, lenghty debate if I remember correctly (tried to Google it but it doesn't return legit results).

Isn't evolution based around survival of the fittest where members of a species born with certain beneficial genetic traits are more likely to survive and reproduce carrying on those traits to their offspring, which over time continues to completely change animals.

Maybe I'm missing something here but I Question how such a change occurs where they can transition from laying eggs to live birth, this didn't happen overnight obviously but how did the traits of transitioning to live birth before live birth was possible benefit the lizards so they could pass on such a gene?

Im not religious.

This in no way however supports macro-evolution.

Andrespetmonkey, all you had to do was click on the link from your OP to see that the article was written on September 1st, 2010.  Anyway, here's the original VGChartz discussion found via Google Search:

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=115937&page=1

Really interesting especially when you dont really see differences in humans whithin 2 or 3 generations. (we grow taller but we mix with smaller humans so its not so obvious)

But 1 species having 2 different ways of "getting kids" is just WOW.

i would like to see a comparison video in PS3 vs 360 style and a fanboy war EGGS ARE BETTER! NO THEY ARE NOT etc.

Thanks for sharing.

Btw I wonder if it would be possible to get TWINS one comes in an egg the other one without.