Figure 1 - uploaded by Jose Luis Rubio
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Ventral caudal scales of (A) the Moorish Gecko, Tarentola mauritanica, (B) the Large Psammodromus, Psammodromus algirus, (C) the Ocellated Lizard, Timon lepidus, (D) the Green Iberian Wall Lizard, Podarcis virescens, (E) the Spanish Algyroides, Algyroides hidalgoi, and (F) scales found on an A. hidalgoi fecal pellet. All photographs are at a similar tail ventral zone (proximal tail) and from lizards of relatively similar size (snout-vent length < 51 mm; not the same magnification). The scales from the scat fit the morphology of A. hidalgoi, with keeled and pointed scales, arranged with a symmetric central scale, with widen scale base (fourth scale from left, D, and third scale from left, E), surrounded by more asymmetric scales. (A, B, C, and D photographed by José Luis Rubio, and E and F photographed by Alejandro Alonso-Alumbreros).
Source publication
Cannibalism is a widespread behavior, although relatively less reported in reptiles than other taxa. Many studies indicate its importance in population regulation and life history of the species concerned, while others regard it as an opportunistic behavior. We present the first report of cannibalism in the Spanish Algyroides (Algyroides hidalgoi),...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... lizard was formerly Algyroides marchi (see Sánchez-Vialas et al. 2019 for a taxonomical review). In the course of an ongoing study of the trophic ecology of A. hidalgoi, we found within a fecal pellet from an adult male with a snout-vent length (SVL) of 43.8 mm two contiguous partial whorls of scales of the tail of a lizard (sum of 19 scales; Fig. 1). The Spanish Algyroides is one of the smallest lacertid lizards (SVL < 50 mm), and it inhabits a small geographic distribution (Rubio 1997(Rubio , 2002) occupying an area less than 5,000 km 2 in the southeastern mountains of the Iberian Peninsula (Prebetic ranges, sensu Sánchez 1982). The species is a stenotopic lizard, concentrating ...
Context 2
... as lacertid lizard caudal scales. Regarding the other candidate species, the gekkonid T. mauritanica can be eliminated as a possible victim due to its large wide, granular, caudal scales, which differ greatly from our focal scales. The scales of the lacertid Psammodromus algirus are also quite different, being wide, strongly keeled and pointed ( Fig. 1). This left three remaining candidates. Timon lepidus is a large lizard (SVL: adults < 260 mm, hatchlings = 40 mm; Arnold and Ovenden 2002;Mateo 2017), but we included it in the study because it was possible that a piece of tail (perhaps from a juvenile) had been eaten. Podarcis virescens is a more comparable lizard in size and general ...
Context 3
... sub-parallel sides widened towards its base, and were surrounded laterally by narrower and more asymmetric pointed scales towards the dorsal side. The scales of P. virescens from the same tail zone are less pointed and clearly less keeled than A. hidalgoi scales, while those of Timon lepidus scales are also keeled but of a more rounded shape (Fig. ...
Context 4
... lizard was formerly Algyroides marchi (see Sánchez-Vialas et al. 2019 for a taxonomical review). In the course of an ongoing study of the trophic ecology of A. hidalgoi, we found within a fecal pellet from an adult male with a snout-vent length (SVL) of 43.8 mm two contiguous partial whorls of scales of the tail of a lizard (sum of 19 scales; Fig. 1). The Spanish Algyroides is one of the smallest lacertid lizards (SVL < 50 mm), and it inhabits a small geographic distribution (Rubio 1997(Rubio , 2002) occupying an area less than 5,000 km 2 in the southeastern mountains of the Iberian Peninsula (Prebetic ranges, sensu Sánchez 1982). The species is a stenotopic lizard, concentrating ...
Context 5
... as lacertid lizard caudal scales. Regarding the other candidate species, the gekkonid T. mauritanica can be eliminated as a possible victim due to its large wide, granular, caudal scales, which differ greatly from our focal scales. The scales of the lacertid Psammodromus algirus are also quite different, being wide, strongly keeled and pointed ( Fig. 1). This left three remaining candidates. Timon lepidus is a large lizard (SVL: adults < 260 mm, hatchlings = 40 mm; Arnold and Ovenden 2002;Mateo 2017), but we included it in the study because it was possible that a piece of tail (perhaps from a juvenile) had been eaten. Podarcis virescens is a more comparable lizard in size and general ...
Context 6
... sub-parallel sides widened towards its base, and were surrounded laterally by narrower and more asymmetric pointed scales towards the dorsal side. The scales of P. virescens from the same tail zone are less pointed and clearly less keeled than A. hidalgoi scales, while those of Timon lepidus scales are also keeled but of a more rounded shape (Fig. ...
