Lygodactylus Klugei (Smith Et Al., 1977) As a Fruit Eater on the Cactus Cereus Jamacaru DC
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Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 67-71 (2021) (published online on 09 January 2021) Lygodactylus klugei (Smith et al., 1977) as a fruit eater on the cactus Cereus jamacaru DC. subsp. jamacaru in the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil (Squamata: Gekkonidae) Tainara Lima da Silva1,*, Hugo Andrade1, Wesla Marcelina Dantas1, and Eduardo José dos Reis Dias1 The dispersal of seeds by animals is an ecological are potentially efficient dispersal agents (Silvius, 1995; interaction known as mutualism, in which dispersers Soriano et al., 1999; Ruiz et al., 2000; Godínez-Alvarez receive nutrients and plants have their seeds dispersed et al., 2002; Naranjo et al., 2003; Taylor and Zappi, 2004; (Ricklefs, 2010; Fonseca et al., 2012; Valido and Olesen, Carlos Rengifo et al., 2007). Birds, for example, may be 2019). Generally, the plants exhibit several adaptations considered local and long-distance dispersers, while ants (fleshy, brightly coloured and appealingly scented fruits) and lizards are local dispersers (Taylor, 1991). to attract agents or groups of dispersers, increasing the Lizards have a great significance for the seed dispersal viability of the seeds (Symon, 1979; Thompson and process (Figueira et al., 1994; Valido et al., 2003; Willson, 1979; Janson, 1983; Sallabanks and Courtney, Rodríguez-Pérez et al., 2005; Valido and Olesen, 1992). Especially in tropical environments, the seeds 2007, 2019; Casado and Soriano, 2010; Gomes et can thus be dispersed away from the mother plant, al., 2014b; Aximoff and Felix, 2017). In specific reducing negative effects from interactions of predation ecological conditions, lizards play an important role and competition (Howe and Miriti, 2004). in the reproduction of several plant species, supporting The Caatinga is a biome that occurs exclusively in both dispersal of seeds and breaking of seed dormancy Brazil and is distributed mainly in the northeastern part of after their passage by their digestive tract (Traveset and the country along with a small section in the southeastern Verdú, 2002; Celedón-Neghme et al., 2008). region (Silva et al., 2004; Souza et al., 2015). This Lygodactylus klugei (Smith et al., 1977) is a diurnal, semiarid region has several vegetation types, which arboreal, and small-sized lizard (adults up to 34 mm exhibit floristic elements of at least four different biomes in total length), whose diet is composed mainly of and are adapted to develop in a harsh environment with arthropods (Vanzolini et al., 1980; Vitt, 1995; Galdino irregular rainfall and extended drought periods (Queiroz et al., 2011). This lizard species occurs in Cerrado and et al., 2017). The plant family Cactaceae Juss. is widely Caatinga biomes in northeastern Brazil (Vanzolini et al., distributed in the Caatinga (Taylor and Zappi, 2004), 1980; Vitt, 1995; Werneck et al., 2009). Despite of its presenting one of the greatest varieties among plant relative abundance, there is little information about the families in this ecosystem (Rodal and Sampaio, 2002). species’ biology and ecology, mainly relating to food Cacti provide different resources to pollinators and habits (e.g., Galdino et al., 2011; Teixeira et al., 2013; dispersers (pollen, nectar, fruits) (Taylor and Zappi, Costa, 2014). For this reason, we here report the first 2004; Gomes et al., 2014a,b, 2016), and their fleshy record of fruit pulp and seed consumption by L. klugei. fruits with high numbers of seeds exhibit several shapes, On 29 August 2016 around 10:00 h, we observed an scents, and colours. Thus, they attract distinct frugivorous individual of L. klugei climbing an approximately 1.8-m animals (birds, insects, reptiles, and mammals), which tall cactus (Cereus jamacaru DC. subsp. jamacaru) (Fig. 1) in Monte Alegre de Sergipe Municipality, Sergipe State, northeastern Brazil (10.0702ºS, 37.5511ºW; datum WSG84; elevation 212 m; Fig. 2). Despite our inability 1 Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Vertebrados, to collect the lizard, we were able to obtain enough Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, morphological information to ascertain unequivocal Campus Prof. Alberto Carvalho, Avenida Vereador Olímpio identification of the species according to Vanzolini et al. Grande s/n, Itabaiana, Sergipe 49500-000, Brazil. (1980): dorsal colour greyish brown with a black stripe * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] from the nostril to the eye; postocular stripe reaching the © 2020 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. scapula; and tail with several blotches. 68 Tainara Lima da Silva et al. Figure 1. A Lygodactylus klugei feeding on a fruit of Cereus jamacaru subsp. jamacaru in Monte Alegre de Sergipe Municipality, Sergipe State, northeastern Brazil. Photo by Wesla M. Dantas. During the observation it was possible to see the that are formed relatively far from the ground. This lizard feeding on parts of the pulp and seeds of a assumption is reinforced by the fact that most of the cactus fruit in a place on the fruit where it had already records of saurochory in cacti are restricted to shorter opened and the interior was exposed, which possibly cactus species, whose fruits are closer to the ground facilitated consumption. This cactus, popularly known (Vasconcellos-Neto et al., 2000; Gomes et al., 2014a). as mandacaru, is a common and native species in the The few records of herbivory available for L. klugei are Caatinga and demonstrates great adaptation to the related to the consumption of the phloem sap of Citrus semiarid conditions (Anderson, 2001; Freire, 2009). sp. (Teixeira et al., 2013) and Schinopsis brasiliensis For example, C. jamacaru subsp. jamacaru exhibits Engl. (Costa, 2014), and the flower nectar ofEuphorbia zoochorous dispersal syndrome with a flowering period phosphorea Mart. (Aximoff and Felix, 2017). and annual fruiting closely related to seasonal rains Therefore, the present study is the first record of pulp (Quirino, 2006; Leal et al., 2007). fruit and seed feeding behaviour for L. klugei. Cactus Saurochory in cacti is a phenomenon that has been fruits are rich in water and carbohydrates (Pimienta- documented scientifically over the past few years Barrios, 1994; Bahia et al., 2010; Neto et al., 2019), and (Figueira et al., 1994; Vasconcellos-Neto et al., 2000; the consumption of seeds and fleshy fruits can be an Fonseca et al., 2012; Nascimento et al., 2015; Xavier important source of water and nutritional requirements and Dias, 2015a,b, 2017; Gomes et al., 2016). However, for lizards, especially in semiarid ecosystems like the records of saurochory for the genus Cereus Mill. are Caatinga (Figueira et al., 1994; Gomes et al., 2014b, scarce in the literature (Castro and Galetti, 2004), 2016; Xavier and Dias, 2017). especially for C. jamacaru, which has birds, bats (Araujo, 2009; Gomes et al., 2014a; Silva et al., 2020), and ants (Leal et al., 2007) as its main seed dispersers, Acknowledgements. We thank Ayslan Trindade Lima for identification of the cactus, and Leildo Carilo for revising this but for which no saurochory records exist. We believe note and offering helpful suggestions. that saurochory in C. jamacaru is restricted to lizard species with arboreal habits once this cactus species grows taller than most, restricting the access to its fruits Lygodactylus klugei is a Cactus Fruit Eater in Northeastern Brazil 69 Figure 2. Locality (red diamond) where Lygodactylus klugei was recorded feeding on the fruit of Cereus jamacaru subsp. Jamacaru in Monte Alegre de Sergipe Municipality (hashed black), Sergipe State (light grey), northeastern Brazil (grey). BA = Bahia State, AL = Alagoas State. References Celedón-Neghme, C., San Martin, L.A., Victoriano, P.F., Cavieres, L.A. (2008): Legitimate seed dispersal by lizards in an alpine Anderson, E.F. (2001): The Cactus Family. 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