Interactions
Phelsuma laticauda interacts mostly
with others from the Phelsuma group; there are twenty nine
different currently living lizards that fall under that genus.
In addition they have numerous competetors for resources and
food such as the
lowland streaked tenrec and
lemurs. The variations between the color patterns on the various
Phelsuma lizards are the trait that separates most of the groups
from one another, in addition to different adaptations. Due to
Phelsuma laticauda being at the
lower
end of the food chain it also interacts with predators; larger
animals and birds of prey predate lizards of this size and type (Saenko,
S.V., Teyssier, J., van der Marel, D., and M.C. Milinkovitch,
2013).
They interact with worms and small bugs and crickets that they
eat throughout their day. They do not have any known mutualistic relationships with other species, but rather they have predator
and
prey interactions. Birds are their number one preditor due to
their small size (Saenko, S.V., Teyssier, J., van der Marel,
D., and M.C. Milinkovitch, 2013).
Photo Courtesy of
Lauren Hogan