Vol. 8 No. 1 (2013)
Short Note

Trophic niche and feeding biology of the Italian wall lizard, <em>Podarcis siculus campestris</em> (De Betta, 1857) along western Mediterranean coast

Marco A.L. Zuffi
Museum Natural History, University of Pisa, Italy
Chiara Giannelli
Museo di Storia Naturale e del Territorio, Università di Pisa

Published 2013-01-02

How to Cite

Zuffi, M. A., & Giannelli, C. (2013). Trophic niche and feeding biology of the Italian wall lizard, <em>Podarcis siculus campestris</em> (De Betta, 1857) along western Mediterranean coast. Acta Herpetologica, 8(1), 35–39. https://doi.org/10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-11577

Abstract

Trophic niche of the Italian wall lizard was studied at three different sites in Tuscany (central northern Italy), two along the Mediterranean sea, one inland. Fecal pellet analysis was carried out on 71 pellets (37 of male and 34 of female adult lizards), accounting on the whole for 184 prey items. Coleoptera, Hymenoptera (ants), Araneae and Gastropoda were the most represented taxa (numerical abundance of ca 22, 7, 7, 6% respectively). We found Brillouin diversity index similar in females and in males, with a marked overlap between sexes, but differences in niche overlapping among localities. Diet spectrum was quite different with that found in other central Italy localities, in the Tuscan Archipelago, or in areas where P. siculus has recently introduced. Our study confirms the opportunistic pattern and adaptability of this lizard species, and increases the range of sampled localities within the species’ range.