On the Occurrence of Runt Eggs in Morelet’s Crocodile

Steven G. Platt; Thomas R. Rainwater; Ruth M. Elsey; Nichole D. Bishop; Scott T. McMurry

On the Occurrence of Runt Eggs in Morelet’s Crocodile

Steven G. Platt¹, Thomas R. Rainwater²^,*, Ruth M. Elsey³, Nichole D. Bishop⁴, and Scott T. McMurry^5,6

¹Wildlife Conservation Society - Myanmar Program, No. 12, Nanrattaw Street, Kamayut Township, Yangon, Myanmar. ²Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center and Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science, Clemson University, PO Box 596, Georgetown, SC 29442, USA. ³Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, 5476 Grand Chenier Highway, Grand Chenier, LA 70643, USA. ⁴School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. ⁵The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Department of Environmental Toxicology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163, USA. ⁶Current address - Department of Integrative Biology, 521 Life Sciences West, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. *Corresponding author.

Caribbean Naturalist, No. 75 (2020)

Abstract
Runt (abnormally small) eggs are widely reported in the avian literature, but the few reports available for crocodilians are ambiguous. From 1992 to 2000, we examined 3015 Crocodylus moreletii (Morelet’s Crocodile) eggs from 117 nests in northern Belize; 9 of these eggs met the criterion for runt eggs. Runt eggs occurred at frequencies (per egg and per clutch) comparable to those reported for wild birds, appeared to be deposited in no particular order within the clutch, and were seemingly viable in some cases. Most runt eggs appeared to be associated with small female body size. In comparison to those of birds, crocodilian runt eggs probably impose minimal energetic costs on females because the maternal investment can be partially recouped by consuming those that fail to hatch.

Download Full-text pdf (Accessible only to subscribers. To subscribe click here.)