Herpetology Notes, volume 7: 721-722 (2014) (published online on 21 December 2014)

Predation of White Anole (Anolis laeviventris) by

Blue-crowned motmot (Momotus momota) in a montane
forest reserve in Veracruz, Mexico
Adriana Sandoval-Comte*, Alma Patricia Degante-Gonzlez and Diego Santiago-Alarcon

Anole lizards are common, widely distributed, and

they are eaten by spiders, frogs, other lizards, snakes,
birds, and mammals (Losos and Greene, 2009). Anolis
laeviventris is distributed from Southeastern Mexico
to Central America (EOL, 2014). Here we report a
predation event on an adult A. laeviventris by a Bluecrowned motmot (Momotus momota). The White anole
is a common arboreal lizard in the central region of
Veracruz, Mexico. Its natural history is poorly known,
however, and we have no information regarding its
ecological interactions.
The members of the genus Momotus (Aves:
Momotidae) are large and sedentary birds presumably
requiring less relative energy intake compared to
smaller birds (Jones 2009). M. momota is found mostly
in cloud montane forest (Orejuela, 1980) of Middle and
South America (Greeney et al., 2006, Snow 2001, Stiles
2009, Skutch 1945). M. momota is omnivorous, feeding
mainly on arthropods and fruits, its diet may also include
frogs (Master 1999), snakes (Stiles and Skutch 1989),
mammals (Delgado-V. and Brooks, 2003; ChacnMadrigal and Barrantes, 2004; Greeney et al., 2006;
Sandoval et al., 2008), and other birds (Garca-C and
Zahawi, 2006).
During a study on 1 September 2014 at 10:10 am in a
montane forest fragment within the protected area Parque
Francisco Javier Clavijero at Xalapa Municipality,
Veracruz, Mexico (19.514511, -96.938361), an
adult M. momota was captured in a mist net carrying

Red de Biologa y Conservacin de Vertebrados, Instituto de

Ecologa, A. C. Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya,
Xalapa 91070, Veracruz, Mxico.
* Correspondence author; e-mail: a.s.comte@gmail.com

a dead lizard in its beak (Figure 1). The lizard was

identified as a female Anolis laeviventris (the dewlap
was not well-developed as in males, but we were able
to observe the characteristic coloration of the species),
a common reptile in this region that is characterized by
having a white dewlap. Adults and juveniles are usually
found foraging on leaves, which is the period when

Figure 1. The Blue-crowned motmot (Momotus momota)

before it was released with its prey White Anole (Anolis
laeviventris).

722
they are at higher risk of being predated. We released
the Blue-crowned motmot after it was processed
along with its prey. Records of birds eating anoles is
not new (Wunderle, 1981; Adolph and Roughgarden,
1983; McLaughlin and Roughgarden, 1989; Aborn
and Froehlich,1995; Poulin et al., 2001; Delgado-V
and Brooks, 2003; Sykes et al., 2007); however, after
our literature review we find this is the first report of a
predation event on A. laeviventris by M. momota, and
more generally by any other bird species. Moreover, we
did not find any other report on natural predators for this
species of lizard.
Acknoledgements. DS-A was supported by CONACYT grant
CB-2011-01-168524 and ASC by INECOL, A.C. through money
provided to conduct an academic workshop.

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Accepted by Martin Jansen