Chemosensory Prey Detection by the Amphisbaenian<i>Trogonophis wiegmanni</i>

López, Pílar; Ortega, Jesús; Martı́n, José

doi:10.1670/12-268

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The amphisbaenian T. wiegmanni is a Northwest African species found from Morocco to northeast Tunisia ( Bons and Geniez, 1996 ). Similarly to other amphisbaenians, the knowledge of its ecology is limited, but there are increasing knowledge on its habitat use ( Civantos et al , 2003 ; Martín et al , 2013a , 2021a ), diet and prey detection ( Bons and Saint Girons, 1963 ; Martín et al , 2013b ; López et al , 2014 ; Baeckens et al , 2017 ), thermal biology ( Gatten and McClung, 1981 ; López et al , 2002 ), reproduction ( Bons and Saint Girons, 1963 ) and population and social biology ( Martín et al , 2011a , b , 2012 , 2020 , 2021b ). This species is listed as of ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN in view of its wide distribution and ‘presumed’ large population ( Mateo et al , 2009 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil pollution by heavy metals correlates with levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites of a fossorial amphisbaenian reptile

Martı́n

Barja

Rodríguez‐Ruiz

et al. 2021

Conservation Physiology

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil pollution by heavy metals correlates with levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites of a fossorial amphisbaenian reptile

Martı́n

Barja

Rodríguez‐Ruiz

et al. 2021

Conservation Physiology

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“…wiegmanni is a northwestern African Mediterranean species found from Morocco to northeast Tunisia [ 45 ]. Similarly to other amphisbaenians, the knowledge of its ecology and behavior is limited, but increasingly more studies are providing information on its habitat use [ 40 , 41 ], diet and prey detection [ 42 , 43 , 46 ], thermal biology [ 47 , 48 ], reproductive cycle [ 42 ], and population structure [ 44 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…on its habitat use [40,41], diet and prey detection [42,43,46], thermal biology [47,48], reproductive cycle [42], and population structure [44,49,50].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni spent its entire life buried in sandy soils and under rocks [40,41]. This amphisbaenian is capable of using chemical cues to identify their prey types [42]. It is a viviparous species [43] that, interestingly, is often observed in pairs or seemingly stable "family groups" under the same rock [44], suggesting that at least some relatively long-term pair bonding exists in this species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How to maintain underground social relationships? Chemosensory sex, partner and self recognition in a fossorial amphisbaenian

et al. 2020

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Maintaining social relationships depends on the ability to recognize partners or group members against other individuals. This is especially important in animals with relatively stable social groups. The amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni is a semi blind fossorial reptile that spends its entire life underground where it interacts with mates and social partners. In this environment, visual cues are limited. Chemosensory cues may rather allow conspecific social and partner recognition. We recorded the number of tongue-flick (TF) rates of T. wiegmanni amphisbaenians to scents of both sexes with different pairing social bonds (familiar vs. unfamiliar) presented on cotton swabs to test discrimination of social groups. As seen from a rise in the number of TFs, males discriminated unfamiliar females from unfamiliar males. This suggests that chemical cues may be used by males to locate new mates. In contrast, females detected scent of unfamiliar conspecifics, but did not show sex discrimination. Both males and females discriminated the scent of an individual with which they had formed a pair bond from an unfamiliar individual of the same sex as the partner. Also, males, but not females, were capable of self-recognition, suggesting that scent marks of males in home ranges may provide individual information in intrasexual relationships. We conclude that conspecific discrimination based on chemical cues may allow the maintenance of social relationships and relatively stable pairs in fossorial reptiles inhabiting visually restricted environments.

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“…Similarly to other amphisbaenians, it spends all of its life underground, which likely explains the lack of information available for its movement ecology. However, there is increasing knowledge on its habitat selection patterns [ 30 , 31 ], thermal biology [ 32 , 33 ], feeding ecology [ 23 , 34 – 36 ], reproduction [ 34 ], population and social biology [ 37 – 40 ] and conservation problems [ 41 – 43 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Going underground: short- and long-term movements may reveal the fossorial spatial ecology of an amphisbaenian

et al. 2021

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Background The movement and spatial ecology of an animal depends on its morphological and functional adaptations to its environment. In fossorial animals, adaptations to the underground life help to face peculiar ecological challenges, very different from those of epigeal species, but may constrain their movement ability. Methods We made a long-term capture-recapture study of the strictly fossorial amphisbaenian reptile Trogonophis wiegmanni to analyze its long-term movement patterns. We also used passive integrated transponder (PIT) telemetry to detect and follow undisturbed individuals underground, obtaining data of their short-term movement patterns. Results Amphisbaenians showed a high site fidelity, moving short distances and over small areas, and spending some days without any noticeable movement, even under favorable conditions. We also found differences in movements between sexes and age classes. Conclusions This movement and spatial strategy can be related to the energetic constrains of underground burrowing, or to the low metabolic requirements of fossorial reptiles, as distances and areas covered were much smaller than for epigeal reptiles of similar size. Individual differences probably reflect differential reproductive and social requirements of males and females, and that younger individuals might show more floating behavior until they can settle in a territory. This study is a rare example describing the movement ecology of a fossorial species and may contribute to the general understanding of the factors that affect space use and movement decisions in animals.

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Chemosensory Prey Detection by the AmphisbaenianTrogonophis wiegmanni

Cited by 13 publications

References 40 publications

Soil pollution by heavy metals correlates with levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites of a fossorial amphisbaenian reptile

Soil pollution by heavy metals correlates with levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites of a fossorial amphisbaenian reptile

How to maintain underground social relationships? Chemosensory sex, partner and self recognition in a fossorial amphisbaenian

Going underground: short- and long-term movements may reveal the fossorial spatial ecology of an amphisbaenian

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