This defense may be one of the benefits leading to the evolution of overwintering in the nest. Now we know why hatching early, as opposed to undergoing diapause, might be beneficial… but why wait to emerge? If you have hatched, why not emerge right away or at least as soon as temperatures are warm enough?
Gila monsters only eat animals from other vertebrate nests. Where Gila monsters live, no vertebrates reproduce in late autumn. After winter, most adult Gila monsters start to become active in March, when temperatures warm.
At this time, small birds and small mammals like rabbits and rats start breeding and making nests that hold eggs or young—food for adult Gila monsters. But Gila monster hatchlings are too small to eat these things. Instead, they mainly eat the tiny eggs of small lizards. Those small eggs are not available until late spring or early summer, when the hatchling Gila monsters emerge.
If the hatchlings left the nest and looked for food as soon as temperatures warmed, they would likely just waste energy without finding food, because there would not be any lizard eggs out there.
Instead, the young Gila monsters most likely spend their time in the nest, living off of two energy sources. First, when they hatch, they have small stores of yolk in their bellies, and they likely drink any fluid or egg white left in their own eggs.
They can live off of this unused energy for weeks. Gilas are also born with fat stored in their tails. They rely on this fat to get them through the winter.
Winter is cold, which lowers their body temperatures. With low body temperature comes low energy use, so hatchlings can survive until spring without eating, especially if they do not waste energy searching for non-existent food.
Development and hatching of wild animals can be hard to study, especially when these processes occur below ground. But these studies help explain the timing of certain behaviors, like emergence. Our evidence shows that at least some Gila monsters hatch in the fall and overwinter in the nest until spring or summer. Nest overwintering helps the hatchlings stay warm, defend themselves, and emerge when food is available. Overall, these data show that nest overwintering is not just for turtles.
There may be other vertebrates that overwinter in the nest as hatchlings, but we need more studies to figure that out. As we learn about other species that do this, we can better understand factors that can lead to evolution of nest overwintering. Both authors helped design the study, collect the data, and analyze the data. Gila Monster Skull. Gila Monster Teeth. Gila Monster Eyes.
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Travel A road trip in Burgundy reveals far more than fine wine. Travel My Hometown In L. Travel The last artists crafting a Thai royal treasure. Subscriber Exclusive Content. Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars? Gila monsters may be active at night if temperatures are extremely hot during the day or be crepuscular or diurnal if the temperature is optimal for them. Gila monsters walk high on their short legs, with the tail clear of the ground and swinging from side to side for balance, in what looks like an awkward gait.
Their speed is not great, but the monsters keep at it. Good climbers, Gila monsters are often found fairly high up in cholla cactus foraging for bird eggs in nests.
During cold winter months, Gila monsters stay in burrows dug with their stout claws or even burrows of desert tortoises and have fat stores in their tail to keep them alive during this time. When springtime comes, they begin to hunt again. As carnivores, Gila monsters do not have very good eyesight; when they hunt, they use their senses of taste and smell. To track prey, the Gila monster flicks its forked tongue out to pick up scent particles in the air.
These lizards are not very fast, so they need to sneak up on prey and bite them before they get away. There is no antivenom for Gila monster bites. Gila monsters seem to have a loose social structure and occasionally share shelters. Males compete for mates by engaging in carefully choreographed wrestling matches, in which the biggest and strongest wins.
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