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Current Herpetology
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Abstract
Abstract:
Lizards in the genus Xenosaurus are crevice-dwelling lizards. Their crevice-dwelling habit may constrain their ecology; thus one might predict there could be limited variation in several ecological traits among species. Here we report on aspects of the ecology of the recently described Xenosaurus fractus from the Sierra Nororiental of Puebla, Mexico and compare it to other species of Xenosaurus. Mean body temperature of X. fractus was 19.67°C. Body temperature was related to air temperature and substrate temperature. We found no difference in thermal ecology between males and females. Crevice use was not related to the individual's body size, nor did male and females differ in crevice use. Crevice characteristics had limited effects on body temperature. Sexual size dimorphism was not present in body size or head size, except for dimorphism in the relative growth of head width with snout-vent length. Xenosaurus fractus ate mostly insects, with caterpillars the most important prey. In conclusion, the ecology of X. fractus is similar to other species of Xenosaurus in many ways. Of particular interest is the observation that X. fractus does not appear to be any more similar to its sister species X. tzacualtepantecus than it is to other species of Xenosaurus.
This study was funded by the CONACYT project 270547, TecNM project 5293.19-P and the internal projects of the ITSZacapoaxtla PI-LB granted to GAWP. JLE received support for this study from the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico—Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Investigación e Innovación Tecnológica (DGAPA—PAPIIT), through the Project IN215418. We thank J. Olvera and E. Pioquinto for their logistical support in the field and laboratory work. The research described here conformed with all relevant laws and regulations in place in Mexico at the time they were conducted. We thank J.M. Walker and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on the manuscript.
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