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1 February 2015 Feeding Behavior on Tree Sap and Planthopper-derived Honeydew by a Fish-scale Gecko (Geckolepis sp.) in a Dry Forest of Madagascar
Teppei Jono
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Although most geckos are carnivorous, a number of examples of occasional observations on plant consumption have been reported in recent years. Moreover, previous research has reported that several Madagascan geckos lick honeydew excreted from planthoppers. Here, I report feeding on tree sap and honeydew by Geckolepis sp., a fish-scale gecko from northwestern Madagascar. Although, in the previous report, the planthopper showed specific abdomen movement after stimulation by a gecko, the planthopper and the gecko in my observation did not show any specific behavioral interaction. Honeydew milking without a specialized behavioral interaction, which was observed in Geckolepis sp., might be the intermediate stage of the evolutionary transition from simple feeding on plant sap to the highly specialized behavioral interaction that enhances honeydew milking.

© 2015 by The Herpetological Society of Japan
Teppei Jono "Feeding Behavior on Tree Sap and Planthopper-derived Honeydew by a Fish-scale Gecko (Geckolepis sp.) in a Dry Forest of Madagascar," Current Herpetology 34(1), 85-88, (1 February 2015). https://doi.org/10.5358/hsj.34.85
Accepted: 1 December 2014; Published: 1 February 2015
KEYWORDS
Ankarafantsika National Park
diet
Gekkonidae
Plant consumption;
sap feeding
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