Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 671-673 (2021) (published online on 18 April 2021)

Predation of naked-toed , geckoides Spix, 1825 by giant , viridicornis Newport, 1844 in northeastern (: )

Washington Luiz Silva Vieira1,*, Maria Betânia Ribeiro Gonçalves2, Erivágna Rodrigues Morais3, Francisco Vicente Macedo Júnior3, and Kleber Silva Vieira2

Amphibians and are common prey to both focusing on the ecology of reptiles and and (Poulin et al., 2001; conducted in the Fazenda Almas Private Natural Reserve Castilla et al., 2009; Maffei et al., 2010; Borges et (RPPN Fazenda Almas), which covers a total of 5500 al., 2016; Vieira et al., 2018; Santos-Jr et al., 2020). hectares, of which 3505 hectares (63.7%) correspond to Among predators of small reptiles, we protected area. The RPPN Fazenda Almas is located in can highlight giant (Zimić and Jelić, 2014; the Cariri western region, municipality of São José dos Moura et al., 2015; Chiacchio et al., 2017; Buurt and Cordeiros, Paraíba State, northeastern Brazil (7.4708ºS, Dilrosun, 2017). -36.8808ºW; Datum WGS84, 708 m elevation). The Centipedes are voracious and nocturnal terrestrial RPPN Fazenda Almas comprises an area of arboreal predators (Undheim and King 2011; Dugon and Arthur, Caatinga vegetation. The phytophysiognomies of that 2012). Representatives of the are vegetation varying from dense arboreal to arboreal- distributed on all continents, except Antarctica (Bonato shrub forms, intermixed with rock outcrops (rupicolous et al., 2016). These may exceed 250 mm in habitats) with hyperxerophilic vegetation (Lima and length and feed on a wide variety of prey (e.g., Lewis, Barbosa, 2014). 1981). The of an adult Gymnodactylus geckoides Naked-toed gecko individuals Gymnodactylus individual (43 mm SVL) by a specimen of Scolopendra geckoides (Spix, 1825) can reach a snout-vent length viridicornis (total length of 156 mm) was recorded (SVL) of 54.70 mm, are terrestrial, have day-night on 10 May of 2013, at 08:00 h, inside a falling trap in habits, feed on small arthropods, and, are native to an arboreal-shrub caatinga area in the RPPN Fazenda the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes of Brazil (Vanzolini Almas. The centipede was observed moving within a et al., 1980). This short communication reports on falling trap and with a quick movement of the front of a predation event on Gymnodactylus geckoides by its body it caught the by the pelvic region, using Newport, 1844 in an area of its forcipules to inject and grabbing it with the arboreal Caatinga vegetation in the semi-arid region of first six pairs of legs (Fig. 1A). Then, the entire body northeastern Brazil. of the was trapped by 15 pairs of legs under the The predation event was observed during fieldwork ’s body which began to devour the lizard by the gular region (Fig. 1B). The only predation record of G. geckoides by an arthropod was observed at the Grota do Angico Natural 1 Laboratório de Ecofisiologia , Departamento de Monument, state of Sergipe, northeastern Brazil, Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, in which a Dinoponera quadriceps (Kempf, 1971) Campus I, João Pessoa, Paraíba 58059-970, Brazil. specimen devoured an adult naked-toed gecko in a fall 2 Departamento de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campina Grande, Paraíba trap (Carvalho et al., 2012). The D. quadriceps giant ant 58429-500, Brazil. is an omnivorous (Lenhart et al., 2013) and an 3 Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, opportunistic predator of small (see Ribeiro et Campus II, Areia, Paraíba 58397-000, Brazil. al., 2011; Carvalho et al., 2012). * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] In addition to the record presented in the present © 2021 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. study, only two other reports of lizard predation by 672 Washington Luiz Silva Vieira et al.

bakeri (Ruthven, 1936) in an area of Venezuelan Amazon forest (Buurt and Dilrosun, 2017), and an adult Sibynophis triangularis (Taylor and Elbel, 1958) was devoured by a specimen of Scolopendra dawydoffi (Kronmüller, 2012) in the Sakaerat biosphere reserve, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand (Chiacchio et al., 2017). In addition to these records, we can highlight: a giant desert centipede ( Girard, 1853) carrying a recently killed juvenile male Western longnose (Rhinocheilus lecontei Baird & Girard, 1853) in a locality in Brewster County, Texas (Easterla, 1975); a specimen of Scolopendra galapagoensis Bollman, 1889 preyed on juvenile of Aegialomys galapagoensis (Waterhouse, 1839) (= Oryzomys bauri) on Santa Fe Island, in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador (Clark, 1979),;attack by Scolopendra alternans Leach, 1815 on an adult of Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) (Carpenter and Gillingham, 1984); and, a predation record of Dendropsophus elegans (Wied-Neuwied, 1824) by a Scolopendridae (Otostigmus tibialis Brölemann, 1902) was observed at the private reserve “Parque do Zizo”, in the municipality of São Miguel Arcanjo, in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil (Forti et al., 2007). The only records of the S. viridicornis centipede preying on vertebrates are of attacks on in the Neotropical region (see Srbek-Araujo et al., 2012; Noronha et al., Figure 1. Giant centipede (Scolopendra viridicornis) predation 2015), suggesting that the centipede is not only of a naked-toed gecko (Gymnodactylus geckoides) in a semi- a voracious predator of other invertebrates, but also arid environment in northeastern Brazil. A - capture moment of reptiles and . Small lizards and of the lizard by the centipede, and B - naked-toed gecko can be common prey for giant centipedes due to their totally subdued by the predator centipede and beginning of the ingestion process by the centipede. Photo by Washington L.S. great abundance in the environment and because they Vieira. share the same microhabitats (see Molinari et al., 2005; Noronha et al., 2015). Therefore, predation of vertebrates by arthropods is likely to be a common event in nature, giant centipede (Scolopendridae) were recorded in the although difficult to record (Toledo, 2005; Vieira et al., last five years. The first was on the island of Korčula 2012). Our observations reported here highlight the need (Croatia), in which an adult individual of Dalmatolacerta for more detailed studies on foraging behaviour and the oxycephala (Duméril and Bibron, 1839) was attacked consumption rate of vertebrates by giant centipedes in and devoured by a centipede different environments in the Neotropical region. (Latreille, 1829) in a rocky location on the island (Zimić and Jelić, 2014). The second record occurred at Acknowledgments. We thank the National Council for Scientific the Grota do Angico Natural Monument, municipality and Technological Development for financial support for long- term research activities focusing on the ecology of amphibians of Poço Redondo, Sergipe state, northeastern Brazil, in and reptiles (Universal – Edital MCT/CNPQ No. 14/2011 and No. which a giant centipede Scolopendra sp. preyed on an 14/2013) and professor Dr. Amazonas Chagas Jr. (Department of adult Spix’s Whiptail, Ameivula ocellifera (Moura et al., Biology and Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, Federal University 2015). of Mato Grosso, Brazil) for identifying the centipede species Giant centipedes also prey on small snakes, as in the recorded in our study. case where a (Linnaeus, 1758) individual was observed eating an adult Leptodeira Predation of naked-toed gecko by giant centipede in northeastern Brazil 673

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