Trophic ecology of the knob-scaled lizard Xenosaurus mendozai (Squamata: Xenosauridae) from Queretaro, Mexico

The feeding ecology of the knob-scaled lizard Xenosaurus mendozai from Queretaro, Mexico, was studied in order to identify the relative importance of prey consumed, by evaluating the intersexual differences in the composition of their diet, throughout a year. Therefore, we calculated the importance value (I-x) of each item, the trophic breadth by the standardized index of Levins', and the dietary niche overlap using the Pianka's index. Our results indicate that these lizards are insectivorous and their diet is mainly based in at least 12 orders, of which Lepidoptera larvae, Coleoptera and Orthoptera represent over 60% of their diets; so the tendency of this population is towards specialization (B-A=0.015), with a high overlap index between males and females (O-MF=0.946). In general the diet of this species is similar to those reported in other species of the genus, which can be strongly influenced by microhabitat use. However, additional studies of prey availability are necessary to accurately describe food preferences, and experimental tests to determe whether there is a preference for a particular type of prey. All Rights Reserved (C) 2015 Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Institute de Biologia.