Herpetological Review Herpetological Review - Doczine

FIG. 1. Common Ground Lizard (Ameiva exsul) ingesting a Puerto RicoGround Tarantula (Cyrthopholis portoricae).rax–abdominal length)) at Gurabo Abajo, Juncos, Puerto Rico(18.2519°N, 65.8964°W; datum: WGS84; elev. 171 m). The lizard,which located the male tarantula from a distance of ca. 3 m,rushed the spider, grabbed it (Fig. 1), and broke it into pieces bystriking it on the substrate before eating it. Additional photos ofthe episode were deposited in the collection at the University ofPuerto Rico-Humacao (UPR-H -Ameiva 1,2,3 – 2007).During February 2007 (dry season), RAPR twice observed afemale A. exsul (ca. 15 cm) eating insect larvae on drying dogfeces at Bairoa Park, Caguas (18.2594°N, 66.0439°W; elev. 82m). This lizard also ingested 3–4 mm fragments of fecal materialthat broke off of the fecal bolus.On 15 September 2007, also in Caguas (18.2353°N, 66.0278°W;elev. 79 m), RAPR observed a Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalusniger) eating the crust and the insides of a piece of a recently discardedcheese pie. This attracted an adult (ca. 13 cm) A. exsul thatcame to investigate, which induced the grackle to leave. The lizardbegan eating the coagulated melted cheese almost immediately.A little later, a larger (ca. 15 cm) A. exsul supplanted thefirst, and after examining the remains, also consumed cheese.Additionally, AMO has often observed A. exsul in Juncos consumediscarded human food as cooked beans, boiled rice, andpieces of boiled squash.Our observations represent the first report of predation on tarantulaspiders and the ingestion of cheese and fecal material byA. exsul. Tarantulas such as Cyrthopholis may be atypical prey fordiurnal lizards. Nevertheless, during the breeding season the malesemerge from their holes and start wander in search of femaleseven during light day hours (Torres and Pérez–Rivera 1976. Science-Ciencia3/4:104–108). Ingestion of feces may also be atypical.Drought reducing the typical prey base for Ameiva may explainthis rare behavior. Our observations may support the notionthat A. exsul is and opportunistic generalist, but the possibilityalso remains that great variation in food selection by individualsin this lizard may exist.Submitted by RAUL A. PEREZ–RIVERA and ALBERTOMOLINA-OPIO, Department of Biology, University of PuertoRico-Humacao, CUH Station, Humacao, Puerto Rico 00791 (email[RAPR]: raperezrivera@yahoo.com).ANOLIS UNIFORMIS (Lesser Scaly Anole). DIET. Anolisuniformis is a small lizard widely distributed in wet tropical rainforests from southern Tamaulipas, México through northern Guatemalaand Belize to northern Honduras. It occurs in forest understoryfrom near sea level to about 900 m (Campbell 1998. Amphibiansand Reptiles of Nothern Guatemala, the Yucatán, andBelize. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 380 pp.; Campbellet al. 1989. Biotropica 21:237–243; Lee 1996. The Amphibiansand Reptiles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Cornell University Press.Ithaca, New York. 500 pp.). The most observable lizard at LosTuxtlas tropical rain forest, Veracruz, México, A. uniformis isthought to be a diurnal insectivore across its geographic range(Duellman 1963. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 15:205–249;Villarreal 1997. In González et al. [eds.], Historia Natural de losTuxtlas. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 647 pp.;Villarreal and Heras 1997. In González et al., op. cit.). Here wereport predation by A. uniformis on an anuran.At 2315 h on 3 September 2003 during a nocturnal herpetofaunalsurvey, we observed a young A. uniformis male (29 mm SVL)swallowing a very small (ca. 9 mm SVL) leaf litter frog(Craugastor sp.). The event occurred on a leaf of a medium-sizedplant in a small bamboo and tropical rain forest remnant in theLos Tuxtlas region, Veracruz, México (18.6072°N, 95.1437°W,datum: WGS84; elev. 650 m). The anole was collected and depositedin Colección Nacional de Anfibios y Reptiles, Instituto deBiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (CNAR IBH21138).From September 2006 to July 2007, we also collected and dissected30 A. uniformis adults at the Laguna Escondida rainforestremnant at Los Tuxtlas region (18.5909°N, 95.0883°W; elev. 150m) as a part of a parasitological study. Examination of stomachand intestinal contents revealed only arthropod remains, mostlyterrestrial and flying insects (flying Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera;terrestrial Orthoptera) and a few spiders. We found no amphibianremains in this sample.Previous diet records for Anolis uniformis (Stuart 1948. Misc.Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 69:1–109; Villarreal, op. cit.;Villarreal and Heras, op. cit.) indicate that it preys on insects andlitter-dwelling invertebrates, especially soft-bodied arthropods. Our2003 observation indicates that A. uniformis can prey on smallamphibians and that it may sometimes feed at nightWe thank F. Bertoni, M. Márquez, R. Paredes, H. Reyes, andM. Sánchez for assistance in the field.Submitted by ELISA CABRERA GUZMÁN and VÍCTORHUGO REYNOSO, Colección Nacional de Anfibios y Reptiles.Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Zoología, UniversidadNacional Autónoma de México, Circuito exterior, CiudadUniversitaria, México D.F. C.P. 04510; e-mail:anfisbenido@yahoo.com.ASPIDOSCELIS VELOX (Plateau Striped Whiptail). PREDA-TOR EVASION. Successful attempts form the basis of most predationreports in the herpetological literature. In contrast, failedattempts are rarely reported even though they are essential to understandingof behavior, natural history, and selection pressuresof predators and their prey. Here I report an observation ofAspidoscelis velox successfully avoiding a predation attempt by a220 Herpetological Review 39(2), 2008