Reproduction, Diet, and Sexual Dimorphism in Micrablepharus atticolus (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) in Cerrado Enclaves Within Brazilian Amazon Forest

Autecology studies provide essential information on species' life history and natural history, improving our knowledge of evolutionary processes vital for effective biodiversity conservation. Herein, we describe the autecology of Micrablepharus atticolus with emphasis on morphometry, diet, and reproduction. We collected specimens from two municipalities (186 km apart) within the state of Rondônia, Brazil, during the dry season (between July and September). M. atticolus showed sexual dimorphism in body size and shape. As observed in other gymnophthalmids, females were larger (size dimorphism) and longer, whereas males had larger heads (shape dimorphism). Additionally, males from our study sites had relatively long hind limbs when compared to females. The most important (average of percent numeric, volumetric, and frequency) prey categories were Araneae, Blattodea, and Orthoptera, corresponding to more than 80% of the total prey number. Females had a fixed clutch size of two with more than one clutch per reproductive season. Egg volume was positively correlated to snout-vent length, which might contribute to the sexual dimorphism observed where relatively large females produce relatively large eggs and, therefore, larger offspring. All adult individuals were reproductively active, suggesting high reproductive activity during the dry season. Reproduction in the dry season can be related to the species' dependence on solar incidence to court and copulate. It can also be related to higher availability of oviposition sites, which are limited during extended periods of rain, especially for egg-burrowing species.