Termitivore or detritivore? A quantitative investigation into the diet of the East African caecilian Boulengerula taitanus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae)

Abstract

Most caecilians are thought to be generalist predators of soil ecosystem engineers (earthworms, termites and ants), but it has been suggested that members of the East African genus Boulengerula are specialist predators. Surprisingly, in the only detailed study of diet of any Boulengerula, the authors speculated that B. taitanus is partly detritivorous,based on the large amount of organic matter found in the alimentary canal. Here we test the con icting hypotheses that B. taitanus is a termitivoreor detritivore,using the stomach and gut contents of 47 specimens collected in the Taita Hills, Kenya. Termites and earthworms contribute most signi cantly to diet by number and mass, respectively. These constitute the major dietary items, together with dipteran larvae and other soil macrofauna. Contents of the intestine are mostly soil and organic matter originating from prey items. The mass content of the intestines averages 69% of total gut contents, and is signi cantly greater than identi able stomach contents. The null hypotheses that B. taitanus is a generalist and a predator are not rejected.

Rotational feeding in caecilians: putting a spin on the evolution of cranial design

“…Herrel et al in press). However, our observations on prey handling suggest that bite force is not used to reduce prey size (see Gaborieau & Measey 2004), but rather suggest that long-axis body rotations effectively allow individuals to overcome their gape limitations where needed (figure 1b).…”

A new lungless caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) from Guyana

“…A diet of invertebrates is typical of many caecilians, which are generalist terrestrial foragers (e.g. Wake 1983;Gaborieau & Measey 2004;Measey et al 2004;Kupfer et al 2005). There is no evidence of either dietary or feeding apparatus modification such as that which occurs in the large aquatic lungless typhlonectid.…”

Care and parentage in a skin‐feeding caecilian amphibian

“…Initially altricial young bear a specialized, deciduous dentition used to feed on the stratum corneum of hypertrophied maternal skin (dermatophagy) during post-hatching parental care (Kupfer et al, 2006a). After dentitional metamorphosis, B. taitanus become generalist predators feeding on soil macrofauna such as termites, earthworms, and ants (Gaborieau and Measey, 2004). Although B. taitanus is the only caecilian for which an account of monthly collections over a full year has been published (Malonza and Measey, 2005), the duration of parental care, the extent of parental investment, and its energetic and other possible costs are not known.…”