Dietary of the Chuckwalla, Sauromalus obesus, Determined by Dung Analysis
Hansen RM. 1974. Dietary of the Chuckwalla, Sauromalus obesus, Determined by Dung Analysis. Herpetologica. 30(2):120-123
The feasibility for determining the diets of herbivorous reptiles was explored by a standard microscopic technique. Botanical composition of the annual diet of the chuckwalla lizard, Sauromalus obesus was determined in the western end of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The quantities of common plants were: Sphaeralcea ambigua 66%, Franseria dumosa 9%, Acacia greggii 7%, Lotus strigosus 3%, and Coldenia hispidissima 2%. Ten other plants occurred in small amounts and about 4% of the diet was insect larvae.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hansen, Richard
- Units
- GRCA
- Keywords
- Animals, chuckwalla (Sauromalus obesus), Diet, NPSRecord, Reptiles (Reptilia)