A gecko, a snake, and a scorpion: behavior and ontogeny of dual mimicry.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the life of any organism is how it interacts with other species. Maybe the most important interaction includes how predators and prey interact. Clearly, prey must avoid being eaten, but how to do this? An especially important and sometimes puzzling way to achieve this is to look like an animal that is poisonous, venomous, or just tastes bad; a phenomenon called mimicry. The present project will study a situation that may be widespread, but overlooked: dual mimicry, in which one species mimics more than one venomous species. Here the banded gecko, which already mimics a highly venomous coral snake that is prominently know for its yellow and red banding pattern, will be studied. Young geckos show coloration and even snake-like movement. Older geckos change their strategy, they lose the snake like body coloration, and potentially mimic highly venomous scorpions. They bend their tail similar to the defensive posture of the scorpion. This project will promote the progress of science by investigating a phenomenon that may be quite common but overlooked. Broader impacts include expanding our understanding of how species interact, student training and education, and planned educational events aimed at helping people be less fearful of, and more careful around, reptiles. Batesian mimicry – where one species resembles a toxic or venomous species without being venomous itself - offers a classic example of how species can interact. While typically studied as a one-model, one-mimic system, some species may face diverse predatory pressures that favor dual mimicry across life stages. This study explores such a system in the Yucatan banded gecko (Coleonyx elegans), which appears to mimic venomous coral snakes as juveniles via conspicuous coloration and scorpions as adults through tail-bending displays. This will be studied using an integrative approach to analyze morphological, behavioral, ecological, and perceptual aspects of this ontogenetic shift, aiming to understand how mimetic strategies change across life stages, how predators respond to these strategies, and what selective advantages they confer throughout life. This project addresses key gaps in mimicry research by examining how a species employs dual mimicry across life stages. Unlike most mimicry studies focused on static visual traits within a single life stage, this project highlights dynamic ontogenetic shifts between visual and behavioral strategies. It integrates ecological and environmental data to analyze habitat overlap with models, predator behavior, and how microhabitat features like leaf litter, humidity, and temperature influence mimicry effectiveness. By combining analyses of dorsal color patterns and behavioral defenses, the study contributes to understanding the functional role of these traits in survival. Furthermore, it provides new insight into stage-specific adaptations shaped by predator-prey interactions, complementing macroevolutionary studies with real-time ecological and behavioral data, and deepening our knowledge of mimicry, sensory ecology, and coevolution in reptiles. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.