Diet of the Worm Lizard, Diplometopon zarudnyi (Nikolsky, 1907), in Riyadh province, Saudi Arabia (Reptilia: Trogonophidae)

Abstract

We analysed the diet composition of 133 specimens of the Worm Lizard, Diplometopon zarudnyi, in Riyadh province, Saudi Arabia. Analysis of stomach contents revealed that 90 specimens (66.6%) had prey items in their gut. The stomach content consisted mainly of small invertebrate prey (beetles), mainly larvae of Dermestes sp., but also imagines of Dermestes maculatus and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. Dermestes sp. constitutes over 99% of the total food items, showing a high selectivity in food intake. The high number of beetles in the stomach contents indicates that this lizard forages very frequently. Specimens collected during winter had empty stomachs. The high proportion of fossorial prey items and the occasional records of other stomach contents show that D. zarudnyi only occasionally forages on the surface.