X-ray and schematic illustrations of the critically endangered Montserrat Galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati) and shell fragments of its prey, a freshwater snail (Omalonyx matheroni).
Imagery: Bohaton et al 2015 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0)
A new paper in Royal Society Open Science by Bochaton et al, X-ray Microtomography Provides First Data About the Feeding Behaviour of an Endangered Lizard, the Montserrat Galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati), is certainly a novel investigation of lizard diets. The Montserrat Galliwasp is one of the rarest reptiles on Earth, so rare that decades pass between observations of it in the wild, and it has only found its way into museum collections twice. This is an interesting article; here's the abstract:
Reporting the diet of recently extinct or very rare taxa, only known by a few museum specimens, is challenging. This study uses X-ray microtomography, a non-destructive investigation method, to obtain the first data about feeding behaviours in the Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati) by scanning one of the two specimens known to date. The scans revealed the occurrence of shell fragments of a freshwater snail (Omalonyx matheroni) in the digestive tract of the specimen. This data combined with morphological evidence shows the occurrence of a durophagous feeding habit and a possible tendency of association with freshwater environments. This information could be crucial to save this critically endangered lizard endemic on Montserrat island. (Reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0).
