Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024)
Articles

Autecology of the gecko Phyllopezus periosus (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) inhabiting rock cliffs of a waterfall canyon from the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil

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  • José Guilherme Gonçalves-Sousa,
  • Herivelto Faustino Oliveira,
  • Robson Waldemar Avila
José Guilherme Gonçalves-Sousa
Laboratório de Biologia e Ecologia de Animais Silvestres, Instituto de Formação de Educadores, Universidade Federal do Cariri, Ceará
Herivelto Faustino Oliveira
Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Pici campus, Ceará
Robson Waldemar Avila
Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Pici campus, Ceará
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-15046

Published 2024-06-21

Keywords

  • Caatinga,
  • Daily activity,
  • Diet,
  • Foraging mode,
  • Microhabitat use,
  • Reproduction,
  • Sexual size dimorphism
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Gonçalves-Sousa, J. G., Oliveira, H. F., & Avila, R. W. (2024). Autecology of the gecko Phyllopezus periosus (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) inhabiting rock cliffs of a waterfall canyon from the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. Acta Herpetologica, 19(1), 41–55. https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-15046

Copyright (c) 2024 José Guilherme Gonçalves-Sousa, Herivelto F Oliveira, Robson W Avila

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Abstract

Phyllopezus periosus is the largest phyllodactilid in Brazil, with a relictual distribution in the Caatinga Domain. Herein, we investigated the autecology of P. periosus, describing activity patterns, microhabitat use (spatial niche dimension), foraging mode, body temperature, reproduction, diet (trophic niche dimension), and temperature. Also, we tested the influence of seasonality and ontogeny on these biological aspects. Geckos (n = 116, 54 females, 33 males, and 29 juveniles) were sampled from October 2013 to September 2014. Phyllopezus periosus has an unimodal activity pattern, with peak activity in the early hours of the night. Males are more robust than females, and forelimbs in females are longer than in males. The body temperatures of this thermoconformer gecko are higher in the dry season. The reproductive season begins in the early dry season, with a fixed clutch of two eggs. Although we did not find evidence of more than one clutch per year, the studied population of P. periosus reproduces for an extended period throughout the dry season, as highlighted by the presence of juveniles all year. Phyllopezus periosus is saxicolous and presents a generalist diet composed mainly of arthropods, also including vertebrates such as frogs and lizards.

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