Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) Eggs Associated with Nest Chambers of the Trap-Jaw Ant Odontomachus brunneus

Christina L. Kwapich*

*Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854.

Southeastern Naturalist,Volume 20, Issue 4 (2021): N119–N124

Abstract
Vertebrates occasionally deposit eggs in ant nests, but the subterranean chambers of ponerine ants have not previously been reported as nesting sites for squamates. The current study reports the occurrence of Anolis carolinensis (Green Anole) eggs and hatchlings in a nest of the ponerine trap-jaw ant Odontomachus brunneus. Hatching rates suggest that O. brunneus nests may be used communally by multiple females, which share spatial resources with another recently introduced Anolis species in their native range. This opportunistic nesting behavior is placed in the context of known associations between ants and frogs, snakes, and legless worm lizards.

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