3rd eye

[Tonja]

I have been reading a lot of papers from reptile authorities lately and discovered something interesting. I don't know that I can explain this properly but will try. It seems there is a lot more to the parietal than just sensing changes in light/shadow or even it causing a predator defense mechanism. While its true that beardies don't have a lot of heat sensory nerves in their tummies, there is a reason for that. In studies done in laboratories it seems that beardies feel heat with their heads, the parietal eye and pineal gland seem to work in conjunction with the thermoregulation. The response is to move to a sunny area when to cool and to move to shade when to hot. When to hot the beardie can regulate their hearts and blood circulation to bring temperatures in their bodies down or up. They have also discovered that the parietal eye is like a "sun compass" sensing extreme light and will position their bodies in the wild for maximum absorption of light and heat. They then flatten out their bodies for maximize surface area for warming up and will darken for maximum absorption. As they heat up, the pineal gland tells them when to pant <thermoregulate>. In one group study where the parietal eye < I don't agree with doing this> was completely removed, it was found that the beardies would bask longer with no sense of thermoregulation or an inhibited sense to respond by panting and did not readily lighten in color to reflect the heat and light off their bodies. I just found all of this very interesting as I had no idea that the pineal gland and parietal eye played such an important part in the temperature and thermoregulation in beardies. There are several papers online that where scientists/vets did these studies, that are readily available to read. Its fascinating stuff and to learn that the pineal gland and parietal eye are so closely connected with temperature and thermoregulation is quite interesting. I am sure most of you know this but I did not realize how closely connected it was.

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/7204093_Respiratory_cooling_and_thermoregulatory_coupling_in_reptiles
when the site comes up click on full text on the right or click on more beside the partial article then click on full text...its really facinating