Abstract
The inter-habitat and inter-seasonal variations in the taxonomic diet composition of the African fire skink, Lygosoma fernandi, one of the largest Scincidae of the Afrotropical regions, were studied by analysis of excrements collected from live individuals that were captured in some areas of the Niger Delta region, southern Nigeria. 22 prey types, mostly arthropods, were found in the diet of this species, with significant differences in prey composition between seasons. Isopoda and Coleoptera dominated in the dietary samples, with very few prey types exclusive of one habitat type and/or season (e.g. Formicidae in dry forest in both seasons and lizards in swamp forest in wet season). Overall, no difference between forest types and seasons was found as for diversity and evenness indices except for that prey diversity was higher in feces collected in the dry forest in dry season, whereas dominance and evenness did not show any significant variation across forest types.
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