Extreme spatial confinement and high site fidelity in a crevice-dwelling lizard with a minimal home range

TL;DR

A small lizard species, Xenosaurus platyceps, has an extremely tiny home range, likely due to its specialized habitat and thermal environment.

Contribution

This study demonstrates that extreme habitat specialization can override traditional body-size predictions in determining home-range size.

Findings

Xenosaurus platyceps exhibited one of the smallest home ranges ever recorded for an adult lizard, at 0.014 m².

The lizard's home range was over two orders of magnitude smaller than predicted by body-size allometry.

Thermal modeling showed the lizard's body temperature was closely tied to its crevice environment, indicating thermoconforming behavior.

Abstract

Body size has traditionally been regarded as a key predictor of home-range extent. However, it remains unclear whether habitat specialisation can alter the expected allometric relationship between body size and home range. Crevice-dwelling lizards of the genus Xenosaurus provide an excellent system for addressing this question due to their extremely restricted habitat use. Using Bayesian generalised linear models—which allow explicit comparison of alternative hypotheses—we focused on (I) characterising the spatial behaviour of X. platyceps, (II) testing whether the home range of X. platyceps deviates from allometric expectations within a comparative dataset of 100 lizard species, and (III) evaluating whether the thermal environment helps explain its reduced movement.

We report one of the smallest and most temporally consistent home ranges documented for an adult lizard. It was observed in a female X. platyceps that remained in the same crevice for more than 43 months, with an estimated minimum home range of 0.014 m2. Bayesian allometric analyses showed that the observed value was over two orders of magnitude smaller than predictions based on body-size allometry. Thermal modelling revealed no differences between body, ambient and crevice temperatures. Moreover, body temperature was best explained by crevice temperature. These results indicate a thermally homogeneous microhabitat and thermoconforming behaviour. This pattern may help explain the reduced movement observed in X. platyceps.

Our findings suggest that, in species with extreme habitat specialisation, home-range extent may be better explained by environmental stability and foraging strategy than by the classical body-size relationship. These results highlight the potential for tight microhabitat coupling to decouple spatial use from allometric expectations. Moreover, because microhabitat specialists are particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and refuge loss, it is essential to consider spatial use patterns when assessing conservation status and designing management strategies.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40850-025-00253-z.

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