Chemical Prey Discrimination of Termites in Amphisbaena heterozonata (Reptilia: Squamata): A Learned Trait?

Semhan, Romina Valeria; Halloy, Monique; Montero, Ricardo

doi:10.1670/09-062.1

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Our results are in agreement with those obtained with two other amphisbaenian species (L´opez and Salvador, 1992: Semhan et al, 2010, suggesting that the ability to use chemosensory cues to detect prey may be generalized among amphisbaenians. However, these previous studies and the current one suggest that discrimination of all prey types may not be complete, because differences in TF rates between all prey types tested were not always significant.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Alternatively, the lack of complete discrimination between prey types may simply reflect generalist and opportunistic characteristics of amphisbaenians diet, suggesting that the simple identification of an animal as a potential prey may be enough for amphisbaenians. Amphisbaenians might also learn to recognize their most preferred, or the most often encountered, prey types, whereas other prey types would be detected but not discriminated for or against (Semhan et al, 2010). Thus, A. heterozonata recognized chemicals from termites probably because these were the exclusive prey type provided in captivity during this laboratory study (Semhan et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Amphisbaenians might also learn to recognize their most preferred, or the most often encountered, prey types, whereas other prey types would be detected but not discriminated for or against (Semhan et al, 2010). Thus, A. heterozonata recognized chemicals from termites probably because these were the exclusive prey type provided in captivity during this laboratory study (Semhan et al, 2010). Also, B. cinereus is able to discriminate between odors of ant species selected as prey among many ant species available in their habitat (L´opez et al, 1991) and odors of potentially harmful aggressive ant species that are avoided (L´opez and Martín, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The few studies made on chemosensory abilities of amphisbaenians suggest that chemoreception may play an important role in foraging (L´opez andSalvador, 1992, 1994;Semhan et al, 2010) and also in in other ecological contexts in the underground environment of amphisbaenians (Copper et al, 1994;L´opez et al, 2000). In epigean reptiles, the detection and identification of prey is not based upon one sense only (Duvall et al, 1987); both visual and olfactory cues are used, although their relative importance may vary according to foraging mode or phylogenetic restrictions (Cooper, 1994(Cooper, , 1995.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, chemoreception may also play a main role in detecting and identifying prey, because it occurs in many squamate reptiles (Cooper, 1994(Cooper, , 1995. In fact, previous studies of amphisbaenians have shown that Blanus cinereus (L´opez and Salvador, 1992(L´opez and Salvador, , 1994(L´opez and Salvador, : L´opez et al, 2002a and Amphisbaena heterozonata (Semhan et al, 2010) use chemosensory cues to identify prey. Moreover, chemical cues are used by B. cinereus to avoid predators and potentially harmful ant species (L´opez andMartín, 1994, 2001), in conspecific recognition (Cooper et al, 1994;L´opez et al, 1997;L´opez and Martín, 2009), and probably to identify their own home ranges (L´opez et al, 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Chemosensory Prey Detection by the AmphisbaenianTrogonophis wiegmanni

López

Ortega

Martı́n

2014

Journal of Herpetology

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Chemosensory Prey Detection by the AmphisbaenianTrogonophis wiegmanni

López

Ortega

Martı́n

2014

Journal of Herpetology

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Conspecific scent marks may influence underground site selection by a fossorial reptile

Recio

Rodríguez‐Ruiz

Sannolo

et al. 2023

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Conspecific cues often provide social information on habitat quality that is considered when deciding to settle at a specific site. The type of sensory cues useful for this will depend on the environment. For amphisbaenians, reptiles adapted to an underground life with highly reduced sight, chemoreception is especially useful to recognize conspecifics. Here, we first analyzed the lipophilic compounds from precloacal gland secretions of the amphisbaenian Blanus cinereus, showing that there were sex- and size-related variations in the proportions of the three major compounds. Then, we tested in the laboratory whether there was an underground site selection based on conspecific chemical cues (substrate scent marks) in two different contexts. In loose substrates, both male and female amphisbaenians tended to choose first the scent-marked substrates more often when the individual that produced the scent, independently of its sex, was relatively larger than the focal individual. In contrast, inside semi-permanent galleries, males, but not females, chose the scent-marked gallery more often when the scent donor, independently of its sex, was relatively smaller. These results suggest that the proportions of compounds in scent marks may allow amphisbaenians to estimate the body size of the producer and that this information affects their site selection decisions. However, the different substrate-dependent responses suggest a different meaning and usefulness of scent marks depending on the context. Significance statement The presence of your conspecific in a site may indicate that this is a “quality” site to live in. If you are blind and live underground, smell is one of the best options for detecting conspecifics and assessing how good are your surroundings. Here, we test whether a blind amphisbaenian reptile that spends its life buried in sandy substrates uses conspecific chemical stimuli to choose where to settle. We found that this decision is influenced by the microhabitat type, sex, and the size difference between the individual that sniffs and the producer of the scent. Amphisbaenians seem to detect and assess conspecific traits based on the differences in compounds in their odors. Therefore, using conspecific scent to assess habitat quality may help fossorial animals to live underground.

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