Herbivory in the Northern Curly-tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus)

Abstract

Leiocephalus carinatus (Northern curly-tailed lizard) is distributed throughout the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and the Bahamas, and has been introduced in southern Florida (Schwartz & Henderson 1991). Most species of Leiocephalus, and L. carinatus in particular, have an opportunistic diet (Henderson & Powell 2009). One important component of the curly-tailed lizard diet is arthropods—primarily ants, beetles, cockroaches, and lepidopterans (Schoener et al. 1982; reviewed in Henderson & Powell 2009). Curly-tailed lizards are also known predators of smaller lizards, particularly anoles (e.g., Schoener et al. 2002). In addition, their diet is comprised of up to 47% plant matter, most commonly fruits and flowers (Schoener et al. 1982), and Grant (1940) reported one observation of L. carinatus consuming flowers of the Beach Morning Glory (Ipomoea pescaprae) in the Cayman Islands. Despite the unusually high concentration of plant matter in the diet of these lizards, documented observations of herbivory in this group remain relatively rare. On 21–23 July 2013 we observed two separate events of herbivory in L. carinatus, in which individual adults were eating flowers from the Beach Morning Glory (Ipomoea pescaprae) on a private beach on Crooked Island, Bahamas (22.773 N, -74.205 W). Each lizard picked off parts of the flower petals and masticated and swallowed them, feeding for about five minutes each. On 23 July 2013, a third adult L. carinatus was observed in the same location with a wilted morning glory flower in its mouth (Fig. 1). Herbivory in lizards most commonly evolves in species that occur on small islands, and is thought to result from a lower abundance of available arthropod prey in those habitats (Schoener et al. 1982; Cooper & Vitt 2002; Dutra et al. 2011). Further, Schoener et al. (1982) and Cooper & Vitt (2002) found that larger lizards are more likely to consume plant matter than smaller lizards, perhaps because of the greater caloric needs associated with larger body size. Our observation of flower consumption by large L. carinatus on the small (148 km2) Crooked Island is consistent with both of these previously described patterns.