Abstract
Dermatophagy, the practice of eating shed skin, in amphibians and reptiles has been reported anecdotally in the literature, but the process and purpose remains poorly understood. We document a fortuitous observation of whole-skin shedding and conspecific dermatophagy in Amphiuma tridactylum (Three-toed Amphiuma), and report on 2 additional observations of self-dermatophagy. Shed skins are potential protein and nutrient sources, and we suggest that dermatophagy may be a much more common occurrence than originally thought.
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