When asked to think about potential pollinators, bees, wasps, hummingbirds, bats, butterflies, and moths might all come to mind. But did you know that reptiles also pollinate plants? In fact, there are known occurrences of 37 different lizard species visiting flowers and/or providing pollination services in the gecko (Family: Gekkonidae), lacertid lizard (Family: Lacertidae), anoloid lizard (Family: Polychrotidae), skink (Family: Scincidae), and whiptail (Family: Teiidae) families. Saurophily, or pollination by reptiles, is most common on islands because there are fewer and less diverse insects for the lizards to eat and, often times, the usual bird pollinators are in decline or extinct.

The blue-tailed day gecko (Phelsuma cepediana) is endemic to Mauritius, along with a rare plant, Trochetia blackburniana. The plant's key pollinator, the olive white-eye (Zosterops chloronthos), a small passerine bird, has disappeared across most of its range. Luckily for the Trochetia, the day gecko has stepped in as pollinator. The gecko spends much of its time hiding in patches of Pandanus plants. Trochetia plants that grow nearest to the patches of Pandanus have a good chance of being pollinated by the gecko. The gecko feeds on pollen and nectar, and in doing so it collects pollen just behind its head and on its throat and chest. This pollen is then transferred to neighboring plants as the gecko continues to feed. Interestingly, Trochetia plants have evolved yellow and red nectar, while the nectar of almost all flowers is clear. It turns out that colored nectar actually helps attract the gecko to the Trochetia flowers. Other geckos in the genus Phelsuma besides the blue-tailed day gecko provide pollination services as well. Phelsuma ornata ornata pollinates several plant species on Round Island, and it has been speculated that Phelsuma geckos may be keystone pollinator species in some of their habitats.

Other examples of reptile pollination exist. Mediterranean lacertid (Family: Lacertidae) lizards pollinate plants: they have been documented with pollen adhering to their belly, throat, and lips, and carrying pollen for several hours so it may be transported a decent distance. Specifically, the Lilford's wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi) was found in one study with over 200 grains of tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides) pollen grains per animal, and has been recorded as a possible pollinator of at least 23 plant species. The Noronha skink (Euprepis atlanticus) pollinates the mulungu tree (Erythrina velutina) by climbing inside the flower to drink nectar. While doing so, the skink's body comes in contact with the flower's anthers and stigmas and pollen collects on the skink's scales. The skink inadvertently deposits pollen at the next flower from which it drinks.