Selective foraging behaviour in the Scincid lizard Lampropholis guichenoti

Small Australian skinks (< 10 g) are often described as generalist invertebrate predators (Greer 2001; Manicom and Schwarzkopf 2010). This view has been influenced by studies of stomach contents revealing a wide variety of prey items (Crome 1981; Taylor 1986; Greer 1989; Lunney et al. 1989; Brown 1991; Wapstra and Swain 1996). While these studies provide important information on the diet of small skinks, they do not indicate how prey was selected (Greer 2001; Manicom and Schwarzkopf 2010). Arthropods found in skink stomachs may have been taken opportunistically in proportion to their availability. Alternatively, skinks may have actively selected certain prey types over others that are equally or more readily available. For example, three sympatric skink species of the genus Carlia selectively consume prey types that are not abundant in their habitat (Manicom and Schwarzkopf 2010).