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Riama unicolor (NCN). Feeding and new altitudinal range

Article  in  Herpetological Review · January 2011

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University of Wolverhampton Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador
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 278 nAtuRAl hiStORy nOteS
fiG. 1. Riama oculata demonstrating use of prehensile tail on first
author’s finger.
characteristics have not previously been documented in the
semi-fossorial gymnophthalmnid genus Riama (Reyes-Puig
2008. Check List 4:366–372) and although there is no specific
information on habitat preferences, all reports indicate capture
in forested environments. Riama oculata is commonly encoun-
tered in the Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve, Nanegal, Pich-
incha, Ecuador, with primary capture through the use of pitfall
traps with drift fences (Maddock et al., unpubl. data). Here we
present evidence of a prehensile tail in an individual R. oculata
upon capture.
At 1550 h on 19 July 2010 an adult R. oculata was captured
by hand as it moved along the ground inside the sugarcane
plantation at the Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve (00.11819°N,
078.60915°W; WGS 84). Upon capture the specimen wrapped its
tail securely around the left index finger of its captor; the other
hand was slowly moved away and the R. oculata remained at-
tached hanging by its tail (Fig. 1). After examination in the field,
the specimen was released back to the original location of capture.
These observations, including the presence of this species in
a novel agricultural habitat and a prehensile tail, are new records
for this poorly studied species and therefore increase knowledge
of its natural history and behavior.
We thank Earthwatch Institute for funding our fieldwork,
and the staff at the Santa Lucía Cloud Forest Reserve and Earth-
watch volunteers for their support and help. We also thank Da-
vid Kizirian for encouraging us to publish the findings presented
herein and Wolfgang Wüster for editing the figure for publication.
SimOn t. mAddOcK, school of Biological sciences, Bangor univer-
sity, Bangor ll57 2uw, uK (e-mail: natureboyuk6@btinternet.com); eliZ-
Abeth f. Smith (e-mail: liz_smith1234@hotmail.co.uk); miKA R. pecK,
school of life sciences, university of sussex, falmer, Brighton, sussex, BN1
9Qg, uK (e-mail: m.r.peck@sussex.ac.uk); JORGe n. mORAleS, coopera-
tiva de conservación y Desarrollo comunitario sustentable santa lucía,
Barrio la Delicia, calle Kennedy s/n, Quito, ecuador.
Herpetological Review 42(2), 2011
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fiG. 1. Riama unicolor with autotomized tail emerging from stomach
following specimen examination.
RIAMA UNICOLOR (NCN). FEEDING and NEW ALTITUDINAL
RANGE. Riama unicolor is a small, semi-fossorial gymnoph-
thalmnid found on the Pacific versant cloud forests of north-
western Ecuador between 2390–3300 m (Copping 1957. Brit. J.
Herpetol. 2:54–56; Kizirian 1996. Herpetol. Monogr. 10:85–155).
This species is known to prey on small invertebrates and mag-
gots, although this information is based only on captive observa-
tions (Kizirian 1996, op. cit.). Here we report on an observation of
R. unicolor consuming its recently autotomized tail and provide
new data on the altitudinal range for the species.
At 1346 h on 1 July 2010 a Riama unicolor (SVL = 8.8 mm;
weight = 1 g) was captured just below the surface of the ground
by excavation at the Santa Lucia Community Reserve, Nanegal,
Pichincha, Ecuador (0.11266°N, 78.61143°W; 1775 m elev.). Upon
capture the specimen autotomized part of its tail (5.3 mm in
length). Both the lizard and its tail were stored in a field contain-
er together until the following day. On the morning of 2 July 2010
the specimen was found dead in the container. Tissue was taken
from the liver for future DNA analyses and upon inspection the
tail was discovered inside the lizard’s stomach (Fig. 1). The speci-
men was deposited at the Museo de Zoología QCAZ, Pontificia
Universidad Católica del Ecuador (SC 32463).
This report increases our knowledge of this poorly understood
species, extending its range down to altitudes as low as 1775 m
and documenting a novel observation on its feeding behavior.
We thank Earthwatch Institute for funding our fieldwork,
and all of the staff at Santa Lucia Community Reserve and Earth-
watch volunteers for their support and help. We also thank Wolf-
gang Wüster for helping with image editing for publication.
SimOn t. mAddOcK, school of Biological sciences, Bangor universi-
ty, Bangor ll57 2uw, uK (e-mail: natureboyuk6@btinternet.com); vAneS-
SA AGuiRRe p. (e-mail: vaskraw@gmail.com); OmAR tORReS-cARvAJAl,
escuela de ciencias Biologicas, Pontificia universidad católica del ecuador,
Quito, ecuador (e-mail: omartorcar@gmail.com); JORGe n. mORAleS,
cooperativa de conservación y Desarrollo comunitario sustentable santa
lucía, Barrio la Delicia, calle Kennedy s/n, Quito, ecuador; miKA R. pecK,
school of life sciences, university of sussex, falmer, Brighton, sussex, BN1
9Qg, uK (e-mail: m.r.peck@sussex.ac.uk).
SCELOPORUS ORCUTTI (Granite Spiny Lizard). MINIMUM
SIZE AT REPRODUCTION. Sceloporus orcutti ranges from the
lower slopes of the Peninsular Range of southern California
south to just north of the Cape of Baja California (Stebbins 2003.
A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 533 pp.). Reproduction of
S. orcutti in California is known from a study by Mayhew (1963.