Antipredator behavior of newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster) against snakes

Mochida, Koji and Mori, Akira and Somers, Christopher M. (2021) Antipredator behavior of newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster) against snakes. PLOS ONE, 16 (11). e0258218. ISSN 1932-6203

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Abstract

Newts and salamanders show remarkable diversity in antipredator behavior, developed to enhance their chemical defenses and/or aposematism. The present study reports on the antipredator behavior of newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster) in response to snakes. Newts displayed a significant amount of tail-wagging and tail-undulation in response to a contact stimulus from the snake’s tongue, which is a snake-specific predator stimulus, as compared to a control stimulus (behavioral scores: tongue, 1.05 ± 0.41; control, 0.15 ± 0.15). Newts that were kept in warm temperature conditions, 20°C (at which snakes are active in nature), performed tail displays more frequently than newts kept in low-temperature conditions, 4°C (at which snakes are inactive in nature). Our results suggest that the tail displays of C. pyrrhogaster could function as an antipredator defense; they direct a snake’s attention to its tail to prevent the snake from attacking more vulnerable body parts. We also discussed the reason for inter-populational variation in the tendency of newts to perform tail displays.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Science Repository > Geological Science
Depositing User: Managing Editor
Date Deposited: 30 Nov 2022 04:49
Last Modified: 08 Mar 2024 04:11
URI: http://research.manuscritpub.com/id/eprint/428

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