Diet and sexual dimorphism in the very catholic lizard genus, Leiocephalus of the Bahamas

Summary

Over 5,000 prey items from specimens of Bahamian Leiocephalus lizards were measured and identified taxonomically. The diet in general consists mainly of arthropods, but much plant matter is also eaten, including flowers and buds as well as fruit. Lizards comprise about 2% of the diet by volume. Individuals inhabiting relatively small islands are more likely to have eaten plant matter than those from relatively large islands. Within the most widespread species (carinatus), sexual dimorphism in size is greater, the smaller the number of sympatric species in its structural habitat. Prey-size differences between differently sized Leiocephalus are greater, the greater the dimorphism. However, even the most dimorphic sexes take rather similar prey sizes. For all Bahamian species combined, the inverse correlation of sexual dimorphism with sympatric species is not as strong as an inverse correlation with latitude. We suggest that sexual selection on female size to increase the clutch size that can be carried may have affected sexual dimorphism in the genus.