Herein, we report the first observation of two different coloration patterns in Chilean snakes. Based on the alteration of wild coloration patterns, a juvenile specimen of Tachymenis chilensis coronellina Werner, 1898 was diagnosed with albinism and a juvenile specimen of Tachymenis chilensis chilensis (Schlegel, 1837) was diagnosed with leucism. The existence of color variations in wild snake populations and the implications of these for fitness are discussed.
The authors studied the influence of three environmental traits on the microhabitat selection of Ameiva ameiva (LINNAEUS, 1758), in the Brazilian Pantanal, an environment with a marked effect of seasonality, i.e., alternating periods of flooding and falling dry. Microhabitat selection was assessed in the dry season using a Resource Selection Function (RSF) and Conditional Logistic Regression (CLR) analysis. Twenty-nine adult individuals of A. ameiva were observed. The average temperature in places where individuals occurred was 36 degrees C (ranging from 27 degrees C to 51 degrees C; SD = 6.8 degrees C). The pattern of the temperature of the substrate on which A. ameiva was observed showed peaks, occurring alternatively either at very high but also milder temperatures along its daily activity period. The CLR model revealed that none of the studied environmental variables (substrate temperature, type of substrate or sun exposure) significantly affected the probability of occurrence of Ameiva lizards at a particular point (P = 0.11, P = 0.69, P = 0.87, respectively). Regarding the sun exposure situation the qualities full sun, shade and filtered sun were distinguished, the substrate type comprised the parameter values grass, leaflitter and exposed soil. The results suggest that A. ameiva is not a microhabitat specialist, at least during the dry season in the Pantanal of Brazil.
In this study, the authors describe the reproductive biology of a population of Pithecopus ayeaye LUTZ, 1966, a leaf-frog typical of the Cerrado of southeastern Brazil. Field expeditions were conducted monthly during the rainy season of 2013/2014. From 41 males captured, fourteen were recaptured from one to four times, up to 13 months apart. Some recaptures occurred close to the original calling site (< 2 m). The body size of males captured just once, and that of recaptured males were similar, suggesting that male chorus attendance and calling site fidelity are not influenced by male body size. However, males called mainly from or close to shrubs of Leandra sp., and all clutches were found inside folded leaves of this plant, which contain trichomes that could assist in fixing the eggs and protecting embryos until hatching. Thus, male attendance and fidelity to such locations may represent a high-quality oviposition site, increasing the likelihood of female choice. The reproductive investment of males (0.35 +/- 0.05 %; N = 14) and females (4.25 +/- 0.35 %; N = 3) was in general lower than that of other phyllomedusid species. This could be explained by (1) a comparatively long lifespan of P. ayeaye, which could represent more breeding opportunities for females; and (2) the occurrence of aggressive calls and physical combats, which could decrease the opportunities for multi-male spawning and sperm competition.
