Scientists are a menace...

Italian wall lizards introduced to a tiny island off the coast of Croatia are evolving in ways that would normally take millions of years to play out, new research shows.

In just a few decades the 5-inch-long (13-centimeter-long) lizards have developed a completely new gut structure, larger heads, and a harder bite, researchers say.

In 1971, scientists transplanted five adult pairs of the reptiles from their original island home in Pod Kopiste to the tiny neighboring island of Pod Mrcaru, both in the south Adriatic Sea.

Genetic testing on the Pod Mrcaru lizards confirmed that the modern population of more than 5,000 Italian wall lizards are all descendants of the original ten lizards left behind in the 1970s.

Got that? Scientists transplanted ten (10) lizards to Pod Mrcaru. Now there are more than 5,000 lizards.

And...here's the kicker...

The new species wiped out the indigenous lizard populations, although how it happened is unknown, he said.

Scientists are a menace who spent their formative years impressing their classmates with strange fetes always preceded by the catch phrase:

"WATCH THIS!!!!"

I jest...This is a pretty cool example that shows just how adaptive our natural neighbors can be. Remember that the next time you read how "Global Warming" is going to cause over 75% of the life on this planet to become extinct...Then go read about the new mammals that were discovered this year.