Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
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Online Publication Date: May 01, 2000

Eggs of Hemidactylium scutatum (Caudata: Plethodontidae) Are Unpalatable to Insect Predators

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Page Range: 597 – 600
DOI: 10.1643/0045-8511(2000)000[0597:EOHSCP]2.0.CO;2
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Abstract

Palatability of Hemidactylium scutatum eggs was examined in a factorial experiment. Eggs of Hemidactylium and Desmognathus ocoee, which are known to be palatable, were offered to carabid beetle species collected from pond and stream habitats. Beetles collected from a pond habitat did not eat salamander eggs of either species, suggesting that they do not include salamander eggs in their diet regardless of palatablility. Beetles collected from a stream habitat punctured the same number of eggs of both species but consumed a much greater number of D. ocoee eggs. These results suggest that eggs of Hemidactylium contain a toxic or noxious chemical repellant in the jelly layer and may help to explain lack of nest defense and desertion in Hemidactylium and other caudate species.

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Copyright: The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Accepted: Jul 30, 1999