13.07.2015 Views

Herpetological Review Herpetological Review - Doczine

Herpetological Review Herpetological Review - Doczine

Herpetological Review Herpetological Review - Doczine

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

We thank Arlington James and the staff at the Division of Forestry,Wildlife, and Parks for their support and permission to conductthis study. Glenn Gerber provided valuable comments on theoriginal draft of this note. This observation was made while conductingI. delicatissima research on Dominica funded through thecenter for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species(CRES) at the Zoological Society of San Diego.Submitted by CHARLES R. KNAPP, Conservation and Researchfor Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego,15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, California 92027,USA (e-mail: cknapp@ufl.edu); and SHERMAIN VALERI,Layou Village, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies.LEIOCEPHALUS CARINATUS (Northern Curly-tail Lizard).SAP FEEDING. Despite their widespread distribution and locallyhigh densities throughout the Caribbean, the natural history of lizardsin the genus Leiocephalus is relatively poorly known. Thefew studies of Leiocephalus diet suggest that these lizards areomnivorous, eating vegetation, insects, and vertebrates, includinglizards (Fong G. and Del Castillo 2002. Herpetol. Rev. 33:205–206; Jenssen et al. 1989. Anim. Behav. 38:1054–1061; Micco etal. 1997. Herpetol. Nat. Hist. 5:147–156; Schoener et al. 1982.Oecologia 53:160–169; Schwartz and Henderson 1991. Amphibiansand Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions,and Natural History. University of Florida Press, Gainesville. 720pp.). They can also be scavengers (Iverson and Smith 2006.Herpetol. Rev. 37:345–346). Here, we describe a previously unreportedpotential food source for Leiocephalus carinatus.On 25 June 2007, we observed an adult L. carinatus (sex unknown)feeding on the sap of a Bay Cedar (Suriana maritima) onAlligator Cay, Exumas, Bahamas (24.3931°N, 76.6428°W, datum:WGS84; elev. 2 m; see Knapp 2001. J. Herpetol. 35:239–248 fordescription of the island). The sap originated from a crack in abranch of the Bay Cedar. The lizard was observed to lick the surfaceof the Bay Cedar branch repeatedly at the location of sap“bubbles,” which disappeared when the lizard licked them, suggestingthat the tongue was used to consume the sap, rather thanbeing used in exploratory tongue-flicking behaviors (digital videoavailable from authors). To date, sap feeding has been documentedin only one other lizard, the gecko Gehyra australis (Letnic andMadden 1997. West. Austr. Nat. 21:207–208; see review by Cooperand Vitt 2002. J. Zool. 257:487–517). Combined with the previousobservations on the diets of Leiocephalus, our results suggestthat these lizards are more broadly omnivorous than previouslyrecognized.Submitted by GEOFFREY R. SMITH, Department of Biology,Denison University, Granville, Ohio 43023, USA (e-mail:smithg@denison.edu); LYNNE PIEPER, College of Education,University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA(e-mail: lypieper@juno.com); and JOHN B. IVERSON, Departmentof Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana 47374, USA(e-mail: johni@earlham.edu).PLESTIODON REYNOLDSI (Florida Sand Skink). ALBINISM.Plestiodon reynoldsi, a federally threatened species, is restrictedFIG. 1. Albinistic and typical juvenile of Plestiodon reynoldsi.to upland scrub and sandhill habitats in central Florida (McCoy etal. 1999. Conserv. Biol. 13:190–194). On 1 September 2007, wecollected an albino juvenile (30.5 mm SVL, 27.0 mm tail; 0.18 g)in an Inopina Oak (Quercus inopina) scrubby flatwood at ArchboldBiological Station, Lake Placid, Highlands Co., Florida, USA(27.1346°N, 81.3597°W, datum: WGS84; elev. 40 m). This individualwas recaptured at the same location on 16 and 19 September2007. Albinism has never before been reported in P. reynoldsi.The background color was pink with a paler dorsal area and littlecontrast between dorsal and either the lateral or ventral coloration(Fig. 1). Juveniles are typically gray-brown with a distinctly darkbrown lateral band from the snout to the tip of the tail on each sideof the body. The heart, major circulatory system vessels, and partsof the digestive system were visible through its ventral side. Nonalbinojuveniles have a pattern of small, dark brown spots on agray-brown light background on top of the head, whereas this albinisticjuvenile had but one slightly darker spot on one of theparietal scales against a pale pink bakground. The irises of thealbino juvenile were red (black in typical juveniles). We depositeddigital color images of the specimen in the Calphotos database(http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/).Submitted by ALESSANDRO CATENAZZI, HENRY R.MUSHINSKY, and EARL D. MCCOY, Division of IntegrativeBiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33142, USA(e-mail: acatenazzi@gmail.com).SCELOPORUS POINSETTII (Crevice Spiny Lizard). DIET.Lizards of the genus Sceloporus are mainly insectivorous (e.g.,Ballinger 1978. Southwest. Nat. 23:641–649; Goldberg and Bursey1990. J. Herpetol. 24:446–448; Pough 1973. Ecology 54:837–844),with notable herbivorous exceptions (Sceloporus torquatustorquatus; Búrquez et al. 1986. J. Herpetol. 20:262–264; S.poinsettii; Ballinger et al. 1977. Amer. Midl. Nat. 97:482–484).Ballinger et al. (op. cit.) described a shift in diet preference frominsects to plants during ontogeny in S. poinsettii. We examinedthe diets of 21 S. poinsettii from northwestern Mexico, including11 juveniles (44–93 mm SVL), 5 young adults (83–93 mm SVL),and 5 older adults (93–100.2 mm SVL), allowing examination ofany potential ontogenetic dietary shift. As part of a taxonomic and228 <strong>Herpetological</strong> <strong>Review</strong> 39(2), 2008

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!