Abstract

CARDONA-BOTERO, Victoria E.; WOOLRICH-PINA, Guillermo A.  and  GADSDEN, Héctor. Thermal ecology of two species of lizards genus Xenosaurus (Squamata: Xenosauridae) in Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2019, vol.90, e902650.  Epub Feb 12, 2019. ISSN 2007-8706.  https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2019.90.2650.

Temperature is an important abiotic factor that affect ectotherms, so the study of thermal ecology has become a relevant aspect in the knowledge about the physiology and ecology of these organisms. Basic aspects on the thermal ecology for 2 species of the genus Xenosaurus (X. grandis and X. fractus) and their relationship with environmental variables such as air and substrate temperature in the central-eastern region of Mexico were analyzed. Field trips were made in the dry-warm and rainy season. Body temperature (Tb), air temperature (Ta) and substrate temperature (Ts) were recorded for each organism. Both Tb was correlated to the Ta and Ts. Differences in Tb of the 2 species between seasons were observed. A higher Tb was found in pregnant females compared with non-pregnant females of X. fractus. Both species are thermoconformers and present differences in their thermal ecology related to the contrasting habitat.

Keywords : Thermoconformer; Thermoregulation; Reproductive stage; Knob-scaled lizard; Puebla; Veracruz.

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