Water-filled bromeliad as roost site of a tropical lizard, Urostrophus vautieri (Sauria: Leiosauridae)

Abstract

Bromeliads are a conspicuous component of tropical forests. Whereas several amphibian species are closely associated with bromeliads, reptiles are much less frequently observed in bromeliads and only a few species use bromeliads for egg deposition or as roost site. We report on an adult Urostrophus vautieri that was sleeping in a water-filled bromeliad. The individual was submerged except for head and shoulder. To our knowledge, it is the first time that such behavior has been observed in an arboreal Neotropical lizard.

Keywords:

• Brazil
• bromeliads
• Leiosauridae
• roost
• Urostrophus vautieri

Acknowledgements

The observations were made during a workshop of the Brazilian-German cooperation program “Science and Technology for the Mata Atlântica” (grant number 01LB0202). We thank the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) for financial support.