Sex, food, and dimorphism: Insights into the trophic ecology of euproctus platycephalus
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_CAE360AF975F
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Sex, food, and dimorphism: Insights into the trophic ecology of euproctus platycephalus
Journal
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
Publication state
Published
Issued date
12/2017
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
12
Number
3
Pages
683-687
Language
english
Abstract
Euproctus platycephalus is among the few urodeles with forced insemination, a behavior usually invoked to explain another peculiarity of this species: males are larger than females, and they have larger heads and longer hind limbs. We examined the diet in a population of E. platycephalus to evaluate if head size dimorphism is associated with trophic divergence between sexes. We analyzed the contents of the stomach of newts from one population in central Sardinia, taking into account their sex, age, and biometric features. Our data indicated that the newts were generalist benthic foragers, and that diets of males and females were similar. Head size dimorphism likely is influenced only by sexual selection.
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Create date
18/05/2021 12:44
Last modification date
28/07/2023 15:34