Temperature Relations of the Water Skink, Sphenomorphus quoyi

Body temperatures of active animals in the field range from 22.3 C to 33.9 C with a mean of 28.1 ± 0.9 C. Various types of behavioral and physiological responses to temperature occur above the voluntarily tolerated range. The maximum temperature at which S. quoyi can survive indefinitely is approxim...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of herpetology 1970-12, Vol.4 (3/4), p.141-153
Main Authors: Veron, John, Heatwole, Harold
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acclimatization
Animals
Body temperature
Breathing
Burrowing
High temperature
Lizards
Low temperature
Spasms
Water temperature
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Summary:Body temperatures of active animals in the field range from 22.3 C to 33.9 C with a mean of 28.1 ± 0.9 C. Various types of behavioral and physiological responses to temperature occur above the voluntarily tolerated range. The maximum temperature at which S. quoyi can survive indefinitely is approximately 1 C above the highest body temperature observed in the field; above that level, survival decreases with increasing temperature. There is no significant effect of season, sex or size on high temperature survival. The lethal limit is affected by acclimation but not by season, sex or size. Survival at temperatures close to 0 C is inversely related to body size. The lethal minimum for small lizards was -2.5 C; body temperatures of larger lizards did not go below 0 C till after death had occurred. The preferred temperature of acclimated animals, as measured in a laboratory gradient, is lower in continuous darkness than in continuous light. Body temperatures maintained in a gradient are 1.6 C to 3.5 C higher than the mean body temperature in the field, depending on the gradient's lighting conditions.
ISSN:0022-1511
1937-2418
DOI:10.2307/1562889