PHYMATURUS SPECTABILIS. PREDATION

CABEZAS CARTES, FACUNDO

HERPETOLOGICAL REVIEW

Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles

Año: 2013 vol. 44 p. 679 - 679

0018-084X

Phymaturus spectabilis is a medium-sized liolaemid lizard endemic to northwestern Patagonia, found in rocky outcrops near Ingeniero Jacobacci, Departamento 25 de Mayo, southwestern Río Negro Province, Argentina. Predation data are absent for this species, but it has been reported to share its habitat with potential reptile predators such as the colubrid snakes Philodryas patagoniensis and P. trilineata, and the viperid Rhinocerophis ammodytoides (Scolaro et al. 2008. Zootaxa 1786:48?70). Here I report an observation of predation of P. spectabilis by a Lesser Grison (Galictis cuja). On 7 December 2011 during a field trip to Paraje Yuquiche, Río Negro Province, northwestern Patagonia, Argentina (41.434050°S, 69.751983°W, datum WGS84; elev. 942 m), I observed a Lesser Grison moving below a shrub (Stillingia patagonica) at the bottom of a rocky outcrop, where I had earlier observed three individuals of Liolaemus elongatus basking. When I approached to get a closer view I realized that the grison was holding a dead Phymaturus spectabilis in its mouth. As soon as it saw me, the grison released the dead lizard from its mouth and retreated. The dead lizard was identified as a juvenile female (69.1 mm SVL). The head of the lizard had been completely crushed, indicating that the grison had captured the lizard by this part of its body. It has been reported previously that Lesser Grisons in Patagonia prey secondarily on reptiles (Diuk-Wasser and Cassini 1998. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ. 33:3?6), however, this is the first case of predation on Phymaturus lizards.