Feeding Experiments with a Supposed Mimetic Complex in Salamanders
Orr LP. 1967. Feeding Experiments with a Supposed Mimetic Complex in Salamanders. The American Midland Naturalist. 77(1):147-155
The supposed mimetic complex consisting of the redcheeked salamander, Plethodon jordani, and the red-cheeked variants of the Allegheny Mountain salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus, was tested by subjecting members of this complex to laboratory predation by four natural predator species. Predation by the eastern garter snake, the large short-tailed shrew, the Blue Ridge spring salamander, and the black-bellied salamander failed to reveal discriminatory feeding behavior. The possibility that mimicry has not been involved in the evolution of the red cheek patch in D. ochrophaeus remains. The hypothesis that infrequent but discriminate predation by uncommon predators such as birds could confer slight selective advantage upon the D. ochrophaeus "imitators" requires further study.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Orr, Lowell
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park NC TN