THE USE OF ODORS IN BURROW SELECTION BY THE WHIPTAIL LIZARD ASPIDOSCELIS LAREDOENSIS B (SQUAMATA: TEIIDAE)

摘要

Whiptail lizards, genus Aspidoscelis, are terrestrial lizards that use burrows as overnight retreats. When a whiptail lizard encounters a burrow entrance, it inserts its head inside and rapidly flicks its tongue to determine if the burrow is already occupied. An empty but recently occupied burrow would still have the odors of the recent occupant in it; these odors may be detected by the investigating whiptail and may cause it to reject the burrow. This hypothesis was tested by performing burrow choice tests using one of the members of the Laredo striped whiptail complex, Aspidoscelis laredoensis B. Individual lizards were given a choice between a clean (no odor) burrow and a lizard-odor burrow that had been recently occupied by either a Texas spotted whiptail (A. gularis) or another A. laredoensis B. In all tests, A. laredoensis B showed no avoidance of, or preference for, lizard-odor versus clean burrows, suggesting that odor alone is not a factor this species uses to choose a burrow.