Thermoregulatory function of the parietal eye in the lizard Anolis carolinensis

Abstract
Animals were acclimitized to a daily cycle of 15–25°C and a photoperiod of LD 12:12. Parietalectomized animals in an experimental thermal gradient (15°C–40°C, LD 12:12) selected significantly higher temperatures than controls at all hours of the day except from 0800–1200. These results suggest that the lizard parapineal plays a direct role in thermoregulation in addition to the indirect function as an illuminometer.