Feeding ecology in the small neotropical amphisbaenid Amphisbaena munoai (Amphisbaenidae) in southern Brazil

Iheringia. Série Zoologia

Jorge S. Bernardo-silva²  Eduardo M. Von-mühlen¹  Marcos Di-bernardo¹  Jochen Ketterl¹ 

[1] ,Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do SulPorto Alegre RS ,Brasil

关键词: Amphisbaena munoai;    diet;    feeding behavior;    natural history;    southern Brazil;    Amphisbaena munoai;    dieta;    comportamento alimentar;    história natural;    Serra do Sudeste;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0073-47212006000400014

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

We analyzed the alimentary tract of 66 specimens of Amphisbaena munoai Klappenbach, 1969 from the Serra do Sudeste, state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Forty specimens (60.6%) had prey items in their gut. The diet consisted mainly of small invertebrate prey, such as termites, insect larvae and ants. The most abundant prey item was termites, found in 62.5% of the non empty stomachs. The high number of individual prey items in the majority of stomachs, the small size of the regular prey items, and the absence of gut content in specimens of A. munoai kept alive for about two days, indicate that this species forages very frequently. The predominance of fossorial prey items and the occasional records of nomadic ants lead us to suggest that A. munoai usually feeds underground, and occasionally forages on the surface.

【 授权许可】

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