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LEPIDOPHYMA TUXTLAE (Tuxtla Tropical Night Lizard).PREDATION. Lepidophyma tuxtlae is a viviparous lizard endemicto tropical rain forest in the states of Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas,Mxico (Bezy and Camarillo 2002. Contrib. Sci. Los AngelesCounty Mus. 493:141). Data on predators of this species are scarcebecause L. tuxtlae is secretive, inhabiting narrow concealed refugesmostly beneath fallen logs, under tree bark and within decayinglogs (Castillo-Cern and Lpez-Gonzlez 1990. Bull. MarylandHerpetol. Soc. 26:153158; unpubl. data). Here we describe anobservation of predation on L. tuxtlae.

At ca. 1400 h on 14 July 2006 during a diurnal herpetofaunalsurvey, we found an immature wolf spider (prosoma = 8 mm,opisthosoma = 9 mm) of the genus Hogna feeding on a neonate L.tuxtlae (ca. 28 mm SVL, 35.5 mm tail) beneath the bark of adecaying log. We made this observation in a small fragment oftropical rain forest in the Los Tuxtlas region, Veracruz, Mexico(1836'6.72"N, 9508'18.76"W, datum: WGS84, elev. 570 m). Thespider held the neonate with its chelicera and the neonates headand anterior body were partly digested.

Many spiders display opportunistic feeding behavior, and severalrecords exist of spiders feeding on lizards (Corey 1988. J. Arachnol.16:392393; Hampton et al. 2004. Herpetol. Rev. 35:269270);however, our observation represents the first record of predationon night lizards by wolf spiders.

We thank Alejandro Valdez for identifying the spider, and J.Cime for assistance in the field. The L. tuxtlae neonate (CNAR12228) was deposited in Coleccin Nacional de Anfibios yReptiles, Instituto de Biologa, Universidad Nacional Autnomade Mxico.

Submitted by ELISA CABRERA GUZMN and VCTORHUGO REYNOSO, Coleccin Nacional de Anfibios y Reptiles.Instituto de Biologa. Departamento de Zoologa, UniversidadNacional Autnoma de Mxico. Circuito exterior, CiudadUniversitaria, Mxico D.F., C.P. 04510; e-mail:anfisbenido@yahoo.com.

LEPOSTERNON WUCHERERI (NCN). VERTEBRATEPREY. The diet of the Brazilian amphisbaenian Leposternonwuchereri is mainly composed of soft items such as oligochaeteworms and coleopteran larvae (Barros Filho and Valverde 1996.Sitientibus 14:5768); ants, termites, beetles, lepidopteran andother insect larvae are the most frequent prey of otheramphisbaenians (Kearney 2003. J. Herpetol. 37:379464). Al-though amphisbaenians are sometimes fed small vertebrates incaptivity (e.g., Gans 1971. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. His. 144:379464), consumption of vertebrates in the wild has been rarely dem-onstrated (e.g., Barbadillo et al. 1998. Herpetol. Rev. 29:236; Colliand Zamboni 1999. Copeia 1999:733742). Here, we report thefirst case of L. wuchereri feeding on vertebrates.

During faunal rescue at the site of the Santa Clara Hydroelec-tric power plant, municipalities of Nanuque and Serra dos Aimors(mean air temperature: 23.1C), Minas Gerais state, southeasternBrazil (1753'S, 4011'W; elev. 105 m), 146 L. wuchereri cap-tured were transported to the hydroelectric plant laboratory andkept in a ventilated wooden collection box (40 20 20 cm) with-out temperature control for 23 days. Wet cotton wads were put inthe box to maintain humidity, but the animals were not fed. Ani-

mals were subsequently sacrificed, fixed in 10% formalin, placedin a storage solution of 70% alcohol, and deposited at Museu deCincias Naturais da Pontifcia Universidade Catlica de MinasGerais (MCNR 279425). During examination of the stomach ofan adult (393 mm SVL) female L. wuchereri (MCNR 294), wefound some small bones (three pterygoids, one ileum, a frontopa-rietal, two maxillae and a phalange) belonging to anurans and fivekeratinized claws (probably of some lizard species).

Environmental conditions during flooding of a previously ter-restrial area by a new hydroelectric dam represent novel localenvironmental conditions. As the water floods the area, some ani-mals escape, typically to higher ground, which may cause localand presumably temporary increases in species densities. This hasthe potential to either decrease food availability or increase com-petition, and may force individuals to feed on atypical prey. Manyunpublished observations indicate that, when crowded in a cap-tive environment, amphisbaenians bite one another and larger in-dividuals eat smaller ones (Gans 1966. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.134:185260). Our data might indicate that L. wuchereri is ca-pable of varying its food habits under such unusual circumstances.If so, the species may be a generalist-opportunist as has alreadybeen suggested for other amphisbaenians (Cabrera and Merlini1990. Herpetol. Rev. 21:5354).

We thank Ronald Carvalho Jnior for methodological informa-tion.

Submitted by RENATO FILOGONIO, Ps-graduao emGesto de Projetos Ambientais, Instituto de Educao Continuada,Pontifcia Universidade Catlica de Minas Gerais, Avenida Brasil,2023, 7 andar, Funcionrios, 30140-002, Belo Horizonte, MinasGerais, Brazil; and LUCIANA BARRETO NASCIMENTO,Ps-graduao em Zoologia de Vertebrados, Museu de CinciaNaturais, Pontifcia Universidade Catlica de Minas Gerais,Avenida Dom Jos Gaspar 290, 30535-610, Belo Horizonte, MinasGerais, Brazil (e-mail: luna@pucminas.br).

LIOLAEMUS CHACOENSIS (NCN). BODYTEMPERATURE. Liolaemus chacoensis is an oviparous lizardthat inhabits entangled thorny vegetation in the forested landscapesof Chaco Phytogeographic Province, northeastern Argentina(Cabrera and Willink 1980. Biogeografa de Amrica Latina.O.E.A.Washington D.C. 109 pp.). It can maneuver nimbly amongwell-armed cacti, such as Opuntia sulphurea, that hinder its capture.Limited study has addressed its reproduction (Cruz and RamrezPinilla 1996. Rev. Espaola Herpetol. 10:3339), but data arelacking on its thermal ecology. Here, we present preliminary dataon L. chacoensis thermal ecology.

On 25 February 2006, we conducted field work in Las Tumanas,Departmento Valle Frtil, San Juan Province (3052'S, 6719'W,datum: WGS84; elev. 750 m). Data are based on 11 captures (7females and 4 males) obtained from randomized visits to shrubsand cacti across the study site. Each individual was captured bynoosing. For each capture, cloacal (Tc), substrate (Ts) and air (Ta)were measured (to nearest 0.1C) with a digital Barnantthermometer. We took Ts at the precise point where an animal wasfirst sighted and Ta 1 cm above the substrate, both immediatelyfollowing captures. We also recorded microhabitat type (as barrensubstrate or vegetation litter) for each capture. Individuals were

Herpetological Review 38(4), 2007 459

sacrificed and fixed in the field with 10% formalin. Afterward,SVL was measured (to nearest 0.02 mm).

Mean body temperature of the 11 adult L. chacoensis was 33.3C(SD = 4.0C). No significant differences were found between thesexes (F1,9 = 0.2, P = 0.9). Body size was unrelated to Tc (SpearmanRank correlation: rs = 0.21, P = 0.66). An ANOVA revealedsignificant differences between Tc and Ta (F1,20 = 6.72, P = 0.01).In contrast, neither Tc nor Ts (F1,20 = 0.04, P = 0.84) or Ta and Ts(F1,20 = 2.83, P = 0.10) differed significantly from one another.Cloacal temperature and each of Ts and Ta were correlated(Spearman Rank correlation: Ts: rs = 0.75, P = 0.006; Ta: rs = 0.87,P = 0.0004). We found no significant differences in temperaturebetween the two habitat type (Chi-square: 2 = 0.81; df = 1; P =0.36).

Based on correlations among Tc, Ts and Ta, thermoregulation inL. chacoensis is similar to that in L. olongasta (Cnovas et al.2001. Herpetol. Rev. 37:88), L. wiegmanni (Martori et al. 1998.Rev. Espaola Herpetol. 12:1926), L. koslowsky (Martori et al.2002. Cuad. Herpetol. 1:7899), L. sanjuanensis (Acosta et al.2004. Herpetol. Rev. 35:171), and L. cf. elongatus (Acosta et al.2006. Herpetol. Rev. 37:466467), which show a stronger rela-tionship between Tc and Ta. In contrast, L. pseudoanomalus(Villavicencio et al. 2007. Amphibia-Reptilia 28:163165) and L.elongatus (Ibargengoyta and Cussac. 2002. Herpetol. J. 12:131134) show a more significant correlation between Tc and Ts. Ouranalysis suggests that L. chacoensis is heliothermic and movesamong microhabitats to thermoregulate.

Submitted by ALEJANDRO LASPIUR e-mail:laspiursaurus@gmail.com), HCTOR JOSVILLAVICENCIO*, and JUAN CARLOS ACOSTA,Departamento de Biologa e Instituto y Museo de Ciencias Natu-rales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fsicas y Naturales,Universidad Nacional de San Juan. *Becario CONICET. AvenidaEspaa 400 (N), Caixa Postal 5400, San Juan, Argentina.

LIOLAEMUS DARWINII (NCN). CANNIBALISM. Liolaemusdarwinii is a medium-sized liolaemid lizard of arid western Ar-gentina. Males of this species are territorial (Cei 1986. Reptilesdel Centro, Centro-oeste y Sur de la Argentina. Herpetofauna deZonas ridas y Semiridas. Monografie IV, Museo Regionale diScienze Naturali, Torino, Italy. 527 pp.). Some aspects of theirdiet, known to include insects, have been described (Avila andAcosta 1993. Facena 10:5761; De Viana et al. 1994. Rev. Biol.Tropical 42:379381; Videla 1983. Deserta 7:192202). Here, wereport an observation of cannibalism by an adult male L. darwiniion a hatchling.

In February 2001, we collected lizards at Mdanos Grandes,Caucete in San Juan Province, Argentina (3111'S, 6810'W; elev.600 m) during an ecological study of this species. Examination ofthe stomach contents of an adult (54 mm SVL) male L. darwiniirevealed a hatchling (25 mm SVL) conspecific, and some antsand other Hymenoptera.

Cannibalism has been documented in two other species ofLiolaemus (L. koslowskyi: Avila and Belver 2000. Herpetol. Rev.31:174; L. petrophilus: Avila and Morando 2002. Herpetol. Rev.33:52). The relative importance of cannibalism in Liolaemus popu-lation dynamics remains to be investigated.

Specimens (MCN-UNSJ 1845a and 1845b) were deposited inthe Herpetological Collection of the Instituto y Museo de CienciasNaturales de la Universidad Nacional de San Juan (MCN-UNSJ).

Submitted by YANINA RIPOLL (e-mail:yaniripoll@yahoo.com.ar) and JUAN CARLOS ACOSTA (e-mail: jcacosta@sinectis.com.ar), Departamento de Biologa eInstituto y Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de CienciasExactas Fsicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de San Juan,Avenida Espaa 400 (Norte), CP: 5400, San Juan, Argentina.

NOROPS HUMILIS (Ground Anole). INTERSPECIFIC IN-TERACTION. Aggressive interactions among organisms exhibita gradient of intensity and frequency depending on how relatedparticipating individuals may be. Interactions between conspecif-ics are usually more intense and more frequent than those betweencongeners. Aggressive contacts among species of different taxo-nomic classes, not taking into account predator/prey interactions,are infrequent. These interactions can arise because of interfer-ence or exploitative competition (Shields and Bildstein 1979. Ecol-ogy 60:468474), mistaken identification (Hess and Losos 1991.J. Herpetol. 25:256259), or interspecific territoriality (Robinsonand Terborgh 1995. J. Anim. Ecol. 64:111).

At 1215 h on 10 August 2006 in Pacuare-Matina Forestry Re-serve, Limn Province, eastern Costa Rica (1012'31.5"N,8315'57.2"W, datum: WGS84; elev. 3 m), we observed an adultmale N. humilis (ca. 37 mm SVL) on a branch 54 cm above theground. The male perched on the branch for ~90 min, and thenjumped to a horizontal stem and did several dewlap extensions,some accompanied with headbobs. We attemped to locate anotherN. humilis nearby, but found none. After a few minutes of remain-ing immobile, the male ran down the stem and approached a Straw-berry Poison-dart Frog, Dendrobates pumilio, that was hoppingupon a log about 1.5 m away. The lizard initiated a new series ofdewlap extensions and headbobs every time the frog hopped, andafter these displays the frog stopped and raised its body on its fourlegs, remained in this position without movement for a few sec-onds and moved again. Both individuals repeated these interac-tions for around 10 min until the frog finally jumped away fromthe log and disappeared behind some bushes.

Whether the interactions we describe resulted from competi-tion, mistaken identification, or interspecific territoriality is un-clear. The substantial difference in body shape between N. humilisand D. pumilio may make mistaken identification less likely thanthe other possibilities. Likewise, competition and interspecific ter-ritoriality could reflect the same intensity of behavior if a limitingresource, such as space, exists, and both species occur at high den-sities. Both species inhabit primarily the forest floor, are highlyterritorial, and exhibit high densities where we made our observa-tions. Males N. humilis have been reported to spend ca. 20% oftheir time defending their territories (Talbot 1979. Copeia1979:472481), and aggressive contacts among D. pumilio con-specifics are frequent in habitats where they reach high densities(Prhl 1997. Amphibia-Reptilia 18:437442).

Observations were made during MDBs masters thesis field-work. We acknowledge Pacuare-Matina staff for support, and thankPablo Allen for suggestions.