Head shape and bite performance in xenosaurid lizards
- 22 June 2001
- journal article
- comparative physiology-and-biochemistry
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Experimental Zoology
- Vol. 290 (2), 101-107
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.1039
Abstract
Bite performance in lizards influences many aspects of the animal’s lifestyle. During feeding, inter- and intrasexual interactions, and defensive behavior, the ability to bite hard might be advantageous. Although biomechanical considerations predict clear relations between head shape and bite performance, this has rarely been tested. Here we investigate the effect of head shape on bite performance in three closely related species of xenosaurid lizards. Our data show that in this family of lizards, bite performance is mainly determined by head height, with high headed animals biting harder than flat headed ones. Species clearly differ in head shape and bite performance and show a marked sexual dimorphism. The dimorphism in head shape also results in an intersexual difference in bite performance. As head height is the major determinant of bite performance in xenosaurid lizards, trade offs between a crevice dwelling life-style and bite performance seem to occur. The evolutionary implications of these results are discussed. J. Exp. Zool. 290:101–107, 2001.Keywords
This publication has 22 references indexed in Scilit:
- Incompletely Protective Refuges: Selection and Associated Defences by a Lizard, Cordylus cordylus (Squamata: Cordylidae)Ethology, 1999
- Mechanical Work as a Determinant of Prey-Handling Behavior in the Tokay Gecko (Gekko gecko)Physiological Zoology, 1997
- Ecological Observations of the Lizard, Xenosaurus grandis in Cuautlapan, Veracruz, MexicoBiotropica, 1995
- Mechanism of defensive inflation in the chuckwalla, Sauromalus obesusJournal of Experimental Zoology, 1994
- Sexual selection versus alternative causes of sexual dimorphism in teiid lizardsOecologia, 1990
- PHYLOGENIES AND QUANTITATIVE CHARACTERSAnnual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 1988
- Phylogenies and the Comparative MethodThe American Naturalist, 1985
- Sexual Selection and Sexual Dimorphism in Some Herbivorous LizardsThe American Naturalist, 1984
- Towards a Constructional Morphology of Cichlid Fishes (Teleostei, Perciformes)Netherlands Journal of Zoology, 1982
- Specialized Insectivory: Beetle-Eating and Moth-Eating Molossid BatsJournal of Mammalogy, 1979