The Roles of Vision and the Chemical Senses in Predatory Behavior of the Skink, Scincella lateralis
- 1 December 1985
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in Journal of Herpetology
- Vol. 19 (4), 487-491
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1564202
Abstract
Scincella lateralis responds to both visual and chemical cues of prey. A visual stimulus is associated with an increased rate of tongue flicking, orientation to the prey, and attack behavior. Chemical cues are of reduced importance when the visual cue (movement) is present. However, when the visual stimulus of prey is removed, the rate of tongue flicking increases, and is significantly greater in the presence of a prey extract than to a dead prey item or a water control. When prey are non-moving or dead, chemical cures enable the lizard to distinguish potential prey from inanimate objects.This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Trailing Behavior in Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis)Journal of Herpetology, 1982
- Effects of Chemical and Visual Stimuli upon Chemosensory Searching by Garter Snakes and RattlesnakesJournal of Herpetology, 1981
- An analysis of prey-searching behavior in the western diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus atroxBehavioral and Neural Biology, 1981