Reproduction and feeding ecology of Amphisbaena munoai and Anops kingi (Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae) in the Escudo Sul-Rio-Grandense, southern Brazil

Balestrin, Rafael Lucchesi; Cappellari, Lize Helena

doi:10.1590/s0073-47212011000100013

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Cusumano & Powell, 1991;White et al, 1992;Gomes et al, 2009), although the relationship between diet and availability was not considered in these latter studies. In contrast, other species of amphisbaenians seem to rely more on selecting small but more abundant prey, such as ants and especially termites (Cabrera & Merlini, 1990;Cruz Neto & Abe, 1993;Colli & Zamboni, 1999;Webb et al, 2000;Kearney, 2003;Balestrin & Cappellari, 2011). These differences in the relative contribution of large/scarce versus small/abundant prey might be related to the availability of these prey types in the different habitats, reflecting opportunistic diets, or might result from morphological restrictions for feeding on large prey of the amphisbaenians that posses a more specialized head morphology (Gans, 1968;Webb et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, with respect to diet, most amphisbaenian species seem generalists (Cabrera & Merlini, ; Cusumano & Powell, ; White et al ., ; Colli & Zamboni, ; Kearney, ; Bernardo‐Silva et al ., ; Gomes et al ., ; Balestrin & Cappellari, ), although the narrow diets of some species suggest that they could be more selective (López, Martín & Salvador, ; Cruz Neto & Abe, ; Gil, Guerrero & Pérez‐Mellado, ; Webb et al ., ; Vega, ; Bernardo‐Silva et al ., ). These studies show that the diet of amphisbaenians seems mainly limited to the types of small arthropods more often found in the soil, such as ants, termites, adult and larval beetles, or spiders, among others.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fossorial life does not constrain diet selection in the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni

et al. 2013

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Morphological adaptations of amphisbaenians for a fossorial life constrain their ecological demands in a greater way than for epigeal reptiles. Studies on the diet of amphisbaenians suggest that most species are generalists, although others seem more selective. However, there is no information on the diet preferences of almost any species because most studies did not evaluate the availability of prey in the environment. We analysed the spring diet selection of a population of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni from the Chafarinas Islands, in North Africa. We specifically examined diet estimated from faecal material collected from live amphisbaenians and compared diet with the availability of invertebrates in the soil. Results indicate that the diet of T. wiegmanni amphisbaenians consists of some of the types of invertebrates that are more commonly found under rocks used by amphisbaenians, such as insect larvae, snails, isopods, beetles and ants. This diet could be initially considered generalist, and probably opportunistic. However, the comparison of proportions of prey types in the diet and those available in the habitat revealed that T. wiegmanni does not eat prey at random, but selects some particular prey types (insect larvae and pupae and, surprisingly, snails), while others (ants and isopods) are consumed less than expected by their abundance. We did not found differences between sexes or age classes in diet composition. We discuss how diet preferences could be due to selection of the more profitable or easily captured prey. There are many aspects of the feeding and foraging biology of amphisbaenians that remain unknown and further studies are clearly needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossorial life does not constrain diet selection in the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni

et al. 2013

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“…Individuals with an SVL of < 9.5 cm were deemed immature according to the study by Balestrin and Cappellari (2011), indicating that this sample contained seven juveniles and seven adults.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the importance of seasonality with respect to the thermal biology of amphisbaenids has never been verified. Balestrin and Cappellari (2011) reported a high abundance of amphisbaenids in the rocky fields of the Rio Grande do Sul, providing an excellent opportunity for studying the ecology of Amphisbaena munoai Klappenbach, 1969. This species occurs in the south of Brazil and in Uruguay (Gans 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two studies have investigated the diet and reproduction of this species in the Shield of Rio Grande do Sul (Bernardo-Silva et al 2006, Balestrin andCappellari 2011). Both studies showed that the diet is diverse but mainly consists of termites, whereas Balestrin and Cappellari (2011) found that this species has a seasonal reproductive cycle between September and November.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermal biology of Amphisbaena munoai (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Matias¹,

Verrastro²

2018

Zoologia

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ABSTRACT. Studies on the thermal biology of fossorial reptiles that examine the relationship between the body temperature and thermal environment are needed to determine the extent of their thermoregulation abilities. This study assessed the thermal biology of Amphisbaena munoai Klappenbach, 1969 in the rocky fields of the Rio Grande do Sul and in the laboratory.The body temperature of most individuals was between 24 and 30 °C, both in the field (n = 81) and laboratory (n = 19).More individuals were caught in winter (n = 55) and spring (n = 60) than in summer (n = 25) and fall (n = 45), and in spring, individuals showed similar nocturnal and diurnal activities. In the laboratory, we found individuals with body temperatures up to 5 °C higher than the ambient temperature (n = 4), suggesting that some physiological mechanisms participate in the thermoregulation of these animals. Amphisbaena munoai is a thigmothermic species that is capable of actively regulating its temperature by selecting microhabitats such that its various activities occur within an ideal temperature range. This study is the first to evaluate the effect of seasonality and diurnal and nocturnal variations on the thermoregulation of an amphisbaenid.

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A new tale of lost tails: Correlates of tail breakage in the worm lizard Amphisbaena vermicularis

Guedes

Costa

Moura

2020

Ecology and Evolution

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Brodie et al., 1991). Although antipredator mechanisms are known for several different animal groups (Edmunds, 1974), behavioral observations in nature might prove difficult. Most species are naturally rare (Preston, 1948), and in situ observations of predator-prey interactions are generally scarce (Fitch, 1987). However, for many species this difficulty can be overcome through the inspection of specimens housed in scientific collections. For instance, individuals

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Reproduction and feeding ecology of Amphisbaena munoai and Anops kingi (Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae) in the Escudo Sul-Rio-Grandense, southern Brazil

Cited by 19 publications

References 34 publications

Fossorial life does not constrain diet selection in the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni

Fossorial life does not constrain diet selection in the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni

Thermal biology of Amphisbaena munoai (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

A new tale of lost tails: Correlates of tail breakage in the worm lizard Amphisbaena vermicularis

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