Predation behavior with individuals aggregation on streetlights in Tarentola mauritanica (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Southern Spain

Tarentola mauritanica is the most common gecko species in the Iberian Peninsula. It is widespread in most of the anthropogenic areas, where it shows predating behavior and male territoriality, especially during breeding season. In this note, we report an atypical aggregation of this species found in...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lozano-Del Campo, Ana, García-Roa, Roberto
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/133567
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/133567
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Aggregation
Geckos
Lizards
Predation
Territoriality
Descripción
Sumario:Tarentola mauritanica is the most common gecko species in the Iberian Peninsula. It is widespread in most of the anthropogenic areas, where it shows predating behavior and male territoriality, especially during breeding season. In this note, we report an atypical aggregation of this species found in the streetlamps of the most frequented area of a campsite in Ronda, Malaga, Spain. There are previously reported T. mauritanica diurnal aggregations in retreat sites, but not much information can be found related to the interaction among reptiles in small places with high prey availability. This unusual tolerance to the presence of other males in such a reduced but suitable place for predating as a spotlight near humid facilities could be explained as an adaptive strategy to increase their success in hunting. © Biharean Biologist, Oradea, Romania, 2014.