Pristidactylus cf. scapulatus (Burmeister’s anole): Saurophagy

Abstract

Pristidactylus cf. scapulatus is a poorly known lizard that inhabits rocky environments of the Andean Cordillera of San Juan, Argentina (Etheridge and Williams 1985. Breviora 483:1–18). This species feeds on invertebrates (Cei 1993. Reptiles del Noroeste y Este de la Argentina Herpetofauna de las Selvas Subtropicales, Puna y Pampas. Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali. Torino. 949 pp.) including scarabs (Scarabaeidae), darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), fruits of Lycium chañar and Ephedra breana (Acosta et al. 2004. Herpetol. Rev. 35:171–172), and occasionally other lizards (Villavicencio et al. 2009. Herpetol. Rev. 40:225–226; Sanabria and Quiroga 2009. Herpetol. Rev. 40:349350). Although saurophagy has been documented for P. cf. scapulatus, details of those events remain poorly known. Herein, we expand the knowledge of saurophagy by providing a record of predation of Liolaemus parvus by P. cf. scapulatus.