Phymaturus zapalensis. DIET.

BORETTO, J.M.; IBARGÜENGOYTÍA, N.R.

HERPETOLOGICAL REVIEW

Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles

Año: 2018 vol. 49 p. 745 - 745

0018-084X

Phymaturus has been described as an entirely viviparous and strictly herbivorous genus (Cei 1986. Reptiles del Centro, Centro-oeste y Sur de la Argentina.Herpetofauna de las Zonas Áridas y Semiáridas. Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy. 527 pp.; Espinoza et al. 2004. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101:16819-16824; Córdoba et al. 2015. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 86:1004-1013). However, individuals of Phymaturus zapalensis feed on mealworms (Tenebriomolitor) in captivity. Phymaturus zapalensis is a medium-sized liolaemid lizard endemic to rocky outcrops within and around Laguna Blanca National Park in Zapala, Occidental District, Neuquén Province, Argentina (39.07088°S, 70.38864°W, WGS 84; elev. 824-1312 m). Herein we report on the first evidence of carnivory (insectivory) in wild P. zapalensis.The stomach and intestine of specimens from the collection of the Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche (7 adult females including 2 pregnant individuals, 8 adult males, and 5 juveniles including 3 females and 2 males) were removed and examined under an Olympus SZ-PT40 stereoscopic microscope. The observations of the stomach and intestine of the 20 individuals showed the presence of plant parts in all samples, and the presence of insects in 75% (N = 15) of the sample. These results support our observations in captivity, and confirm that P. zapalensis is the only known omnivorous species in its genus. The high-energy omnivorous diet of P. zapalensis could explain the capabilityof females to breed annually, instead of the characteristic biennial cycle of other species in the genus (Boretto and Ibargüengoytía 2009. J. Herpetol. 43:96?104). If this difference holds, it may have consequences for growth and life history parameters, such as longevity, relative reproductive time, and proportion of adult life, allowing higher reproductive frequencies and higherinvestment in energy and biomass in each reproductive event, compared to congeners with an herbivorous diet (Boretto et al. 2018. J. Comp. Physiol. B 188:491-503).