INALI   02622
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE LIMNOLOGIA
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Comparative ecology of three species of Thamnodynastes in the Subtropical-temperate South America.
Autor/es:
BELLINI GISELA P.; GIRAUDO ALEJANDRO; ARZAMENDIA VANESA
Revista:
HERPETOLOGICAL JOURNAL
Editorial:
BRITISH HERPETOL SOC
Referencias:
Lugar: Montrose, Angus, UK; Año: 2014 p. 87 - 96
ISSN:
0268-0130
Resumen:
In order to explain the differences among species within present-day communities, two hypotheses were proposed: the competition- predation hypothesis (CPH) and the deep history hypothesis (DHH). However, the lack of information about the ecology of many species hinders clarification of the respective role of these different, though not mutually exclusive, hypotheses. We compared the ecology of Thamnodynastes chaquensis, T. hypoconia and T. strigatus in their subtropical-temperate area of distribution, evaluating the reproductive biology, sexual dimorphism and feeding ecology of T. hypoconia and T. strigatus, and provided the first verified ecology data of T. chaquensis. Females attained sexual maturity at larger sizes than males. The sexual dimorphism seen in these species was unusual among viviparous snakes; males and females had similar body size, although males had more ventral scales than females. Females? reproductive cycle was seasonal, not annual, with parturition occurring in summer. Diets of the three species were based mainly on amphibians. T. strigatus, the largest species, also fed on fishes, lizards and mammals, but to a lesser extent than anurans. T. hypoconia fed occasionally on lizards, while T. chaquensis did it entirely on amphibians. Thamnodynastes species inhabited mainly in wetlands, where prey are abundant. In light of the results we found and the available data for other species of Tachymenini, we propose that most of their ecological traits are of a phylogenetic conservative nature within this lineage and support the DHH.