The overlooked underground diversity: physical and chemical edaphic structure predict morphological variation in South American amphisbaenians (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Fraga, Rafael de; Santos-Jr, Alfredo P.; Werneck, Fernanda P.; Costa, Henrique Caldeira; Guimarães, Jéssica T.; Perez, Renata; Mendes, Roberta Graboski; Mott, Tamí; Vaz-Silva, Wilian; Ribeiro, Síria

doi:10.1080/01650521.2022.2147046

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…All specimens studied herein are adults, although slightly differing in snout‐vent length (MZUSP 91638: 284 mm; CHNUFPI 0790: 223 mm; CHNUFPI 0791: 255 mm; CHNUFPI 0792: 262 mm). Sexual dimorphism in head scales and head width is known for A. vermicularis (Fraga et al, 2022), although our sample size is too small to permit conclusions on sexual dimorphism in the skull osteology of this species. At least in some cases where bone morphology is more similar between the female and one of the two male specimens of A. vermicularis , such variation cannot be attributed to sexual dimorphism and may be simply individual‐based (e.g., number of interdigitations in the articular plate of the frontal and in the frontoparietal suture).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…At least in some cases where bone morphology is more similar between the female and one of the two male specimens of A. vermicularis , such variation cannot be attributed to sexual dimorphism and may be simply individual‐based (e.g., number of interdigitations in the articular plate of the frontal and in the frontoparietal suture). Such intraspecific differences within A. vermicularis are likely unrelated to soil characteristics (Fraga et al, 2022) because the three specimens came from the same locality (Guadalupe, Piauí, Brazil), whose dominant soil types are acrisols and ferralsols (FAO, IIASA, ISRIC, ISSCAS, JRC, 2012). In contrast, the single known specimen of A. arda was collected in sandy arenosols (FAO, IIASA, ISRIC, ISSCAS, JRC, 2012), making it possible that soil structure is related to osteological differences between A. arda and A. vermicularis .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative skull osteology of Amphisbaena arda and Amphisbaena vermicularis (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Paiva,

Hipsley,

Müller

et al. 2024

Journal of Morphology

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The skull anatomy of amphisbaenians directly influences their capacity to burrow and is crucial for the study of their systematics, which ultimately contributes to our comprehension of their evolution and ecology. In this study, we employed three‐dimensional X‐ray computed tomography to provide a detailed description and comprehensive comparison of the skull anatomy of two amphisbaenian species with similar external morphology, Amphisbaena arda and Amphisbaena vermicularis. Our findings revealed some differences between the species, especially in the sagittal crest of the parietal bone, the ascendant process, and the transverse occipital crest of the occipital complex. We also found intraspecific variation within A. vermicularis, with some specimens displaying morphology that differed from their conspecifics but not from A. arda. The observed intraspecific variation within A. vermicularis cannot be attributed to soil features because all specimens came from the same locality. Specimen size and soil type may play a role in the observed differences between A. arda and A. vermicularis, as the single A. arda specimen is the largest of our sample and soil type and texture differ between the collection sites of the two species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative skull osteology of Amphisbaena arda and Amphisbaena vermicularis (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Paiva,

Hipsley,

Müller

et al. 2024

Journal of Morphology

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show abstract

“…[130][131][132][133][134][135] Underground, animals must contend with reduced visibility, which creates a need to sense the environment through tactile or chemical cues, or detection of vibrations propagated through the substrate. [136][137][138] They must also resist the infiltration of dirt or sand into the body, which they may overcome through derived anatomical features or behavior. 139,140 Some aquatic snakes (especially in the family Homalopsidae and colubrid subfamily Natricinae) burrow into the muddy or rocky bottoms or banks of their watery habitats, likely facing very particular problems associated with aquatic burrowing.…”

Section: Burrowingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some species burrow in sand or other granular media, which impose specific challenges due to their mix of solid‐like and fluid‐like properties, and which, like many other substrates, can pose different problems when wet than when dry 130–135 . Underground, animals must contend with reduced visibility, which creates a need to sense the environment through tactile or chemical cues, or detection of vibrations propagated through the substrate 136–138 . They must also resist the infiltration of dirt or sand into the body, which they may overcome through derived anatomical features or behavior 139,140 .…”

Section: Snake Locomotor Modesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional diversity of snake locomotor behaviors: A review of the biological literature for bioinspiration

Tingle,

Garner,

Astley

2024

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Organismal solutions to natural challenges can spark creative engineering applications. However, most engineers are not experts in organismal biology, creating a potential barrier to maximally effective bioinspired design. In this review, we aim to reduce that barrier with respect to a group of organisms that hold particular promise for a variety of applications: snakes. Representing >10% of tetrapod vertebrates, snakes inhabit nearly every imaginable terrestrial environment, moving with ease under many conditions that would thwart other animals. To do so, they employ over a dozen different types of locomotion (perhaps well over). Lacking limbs, they have evolved axial musculoskeletal features that enable their vast functional diversity, which can vary across species. Different species also have various skin features that provide numerous functional benefits, including frictional anisotropy or isotropy (as their locomotor habits demand), waterproofing, dirt shedding, antimicrobial properties, structural colors, and wear resistance. Snakes clearly have much to offer to the fields of robotics and materials science. We aim for this review to increase knowledge of snake functional diversity by facilitating access to the relevant literature.

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“…Therefore, it seems that these predators tend to prefer catching easier prey such as ants and beetles, and avoid relatively agile prey such as spiders and flies and consquently they are found in small proportions in the sampled stomachs of the Scincus. However, some studies, which that have focused on the diet of lizards, have revealed that their choice of prey is affected by the availability of such prey and also by the edaphic characteristics of the surrounding environment (de Fraga et al, 2022).Unfortunately, we did not sample potential prey in the habitat to verify whether their abundance in this lizard's diet reflected their abundance in the environment. This would have made it possible to highlight any selection phenomena.…”

Section: Food Compositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual dimorphism and dietary composition of the sandfish lizard Scincus scincus (Linnaeus, 1758) of southeastern Algeria

Laoufi

2023

Acta fytotechn zootechn

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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseIn this study, we present the fi rst data on the sexual dimorphism and diet of a typical desert lizard species, Scincus scincus, in the region of El-Oued, southeastern Algeria. The objective was to characterize the types of prey in the diet and determine whether there is a correlation between prey size and body size in males and females. The results obtained reveal that out of the 115 individuals captured (43 males and 72 females), sexual dimorphism is observed. Males tend to be larger than females, with males exhibiting relatively larger snout-vent length, head height, head length, and jaw length compared to females. However, no diff erence is recorded in terms of head width. The analysis of stomach contents allowed us to identify 485 prey items distributed among 9 prey categories, all attributed to insects. Coleoptera was the most commonly ingested prey category, accounting for 61.54% of stomachs, 59.79% of total prey items, and 62.41% of total volume. A similar diet was observed between females and males of S. scincus, with a high diet overlap (O = 0.99) and a low diversity of prey types ingested by both males (Ba = 0.17) and females (Ba = 0.19). Coleoptera represented the most dominant order in the skink's diet, followed by the Hymenoptera order. Generally, the remaining seven taxa were consumed in low proportions by both sexes. Additionally, we observed no signifi cant diff erence between the number of prey consumed and the volume of prey between the sexes, and no correlation was found between morphometric characteristics, diet composition, and prey volume.

show abstract

The overlooked underground diversity: physical and chemical edaphic structure predict morphological variation in South American amphisbaenians (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Cited by 3 publications

References 56 publications

Comparative skull osteology of Amphisbaena arda and Amphisbaena vermicularis (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Comparative skull osteology of Amphisbaena arda and Amphisbaena vermicularis (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae)

Functional diversity of snake locomotor behaviors: A review of the biological literature for bioinspiration

Sexual dimorphism and dietary composition of the sandfish lizard Scincus scincus (Linnaeus, 1758) of southeastern Algeria

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