Tiny Lizard Becomes First Reptile to Master Rock-Paper-Scissors, Thrilling Scientists

The Lizard That Beat the Odds—And Its Human Opponents

In a cramped research trailer parked on Australia’s sun-scorched Eyre Peninsula, ecologist Dr. Maya Lang pointed to a palm-sized gecko and issued a challenge familiar to every schoolyard: rock-paper-scissors. Within seconds, the lizard—nicknamed "Pippin"—scratched a tiny rock symbol across the sand tray, besting Lang’s paper. The room erupted. Pippin had just recorded the first confirmed victory of a reptile in the classic hand game, and Lang’s team believes the feat is more than a party trick.

"We’re watching a cold-blooded creature grasp symbolic reasoning in real time. That re-writes what we thought we knew about reptilian cognition," Lang said.

How Do You Teach a Gecko to Play?

Lang’s group at Flinders University adapted a method once used with parrots: associate each gesture with a food reward. Rocks meant a cricket; paper, a wax-worm; scissors, a tiny piece of banana. Touch-screens embedded in the terrarium displayed colored shapes. When Pippin tapped the correct symbol, a treat dropped. Within three weeks, the lizard selected the winning option 78 percent of the time—outperforming many undergraduate volunteers drafted for the control group.

Why Rock-Paper-Scissors Matters to Science

The game isn’t random to a reptile brain; it demands rapid categorization and counter-strategy. Neurobiologist Dr. Ken Watanabe of Kyoto University, unaffiliated with the study, calls the findings "a Rosetta Stone for understanding non-mammalian intelligence." If a gecko can map abstract symbols to outcomes, researchers may recalibrate conservation tactics, training vulnerable species to avoid predators or recognize food in changing habitats.

Internet Fame and Conservation Cash

Footage of Pippin’s matchups—complete with miniature scoreboard—has racked up 14 million views on TikTok under the hashtag #LizardRPS. Merchandise sales, Lang says, will fund satellite tags for wild geckos threatened by mining expansion. "Every T-shirt buys a tracker," she laughs.

Next Moves

The team plans to introduce a lizard-versus-lizard tournament to see if social hierarchy affects strategy. Meanwhile, Pippin enjoys retirement in a temperature-controlled vivarium, snatching crickets and, presumably, dreaming of rematches.