Augusto N. Carvalho , Bruno L. de S. Bambirra , Leonardo B. Passalacqua , Filipe C. Serrano
{"title":"Not armoured enough: The black-and-white tegu Salvator merianae (Squamata: Teiidae) as a predator of armadillos (Cingulata)","authors":"Augusto N. Carvalho , Bruno L. de S. Bambirra , Leonardo B. Passalacqua , Filipe C. Serrano","doi":"10.1016/j.fooweb.2024.e00380","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reporting predation events is crucial to understand how species behaviour and predator-prey interactions shape food webs. However, data is still lacking for most neotropical fauna, especially reptiles. <em>Salvator merianae</em> is a widespread lizard species, which is often found in human-altered habitats and has been introduced in multiple locations. This Neotropical lizard is omnivorous and acts as a necrophagous, seed disperser and predator of small-sized animals. However, in spite of extensive data on its generalist diet, detailed predation records over medium-sized vertebrates (between 1 and 40 kg) are scarce. Here we report the first records of <em>S. merianae</em> predation on three distinct armadillo species, all of which occurred in human-altered habitats in Brazil and Argentina. Our records contribute to a better understanding of trophic interactions in modified landscapes and how large reptiles, such as <em>S. merianae,</em> may play an important role in food webs in the absence of larger predators.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":38084,"journal":{"name":"Food Webs","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article e00380"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Food Webs","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352249624000466","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Reporting predation events is crucial to understand how species behaviour and predator-prey interactions shape food webs. However, data is still lacking for most neotropical fauna, especially reptiles. Salvator merianae is a widespread lizard species, which is often found in human-altered habitats and has been introduced in multiple locations. This Neotropical lizard is omnivorous and acts as a necrophagous, seed disperser and predator of small-sized animals. However, in spite of extensive data on its generalist diet, detailed predation records over medium-sized vertebrates (between 1 and 40 kg) are scarce. Here we report the first records of S. merianae predation on three distinct armadillo species, all of which occurred in human-altered habitats in Brazil and Argentina. Our records contribute to a better understanding of trophic interactions in modified landscapes and how large reptiles, such as S. merianae, may play an important role in food webs in the absence of larger predators.