Database

Body masses, organ tissue masses, and - for herbivores - gastrointestinal wet contents masses in reptile species from various sources. Data are means based on n observations.

Family / Heart / Kidney / Liver / Gastrointestinal tract / Gastrointestinal contents / Source
Species / n / BM / Tissue / n / BM / Tissue / n / BM / Tissue / n / BM / Tissue / n / BM / Contents
kg / kg / kg / kg / kg / kg / kg / kg / kg / kg
Kinosternidae
Sternotherus odoratus / 28 / 0.10898 / 0.00044 / 28 / 0.10898 / 0.00069 / 28 / 0.10898 / 0.00333 / 28 / 0.10898 / 0.00275 / - / - / - / 10
Emydidae
Pseudemys nelsoni / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 12 / 3.00000 / 0.21640 / 2
Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima / 5 / 0.07927 / 0.00019 / 5 / 0.07927 / 0.00033 / 5 / 0.07927 / 0.00359 / 5 / 0.07927 / 0.00312 / - / - / - / 10
Testudinidae
Geochelone pardalis / 11 / 0.02778 / 0.00011 / 11 / 0.02778 / 0.00014 / 11 / 0.02778 / 0.00040 / 15 / 0.86030 / 0.04302 / 4 / 3.14974 / 0.36974 / 7, 10
Kinixys spekii / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 4 / 1.12312 / 0.04989 / - / - / - / 7
Testudo graeca / 2 / 0.53447 / 0.00140 / 2 / 0.53447 / 0.00367 / 2 / 0.53447 / 0.00906 / 2 / 0.53447 / 0.01059 / - / - / - / 10
Testudo hermanni / 25 / 0.17127 / 0.00078 / 25 / 0.17127 / 0.00169 / 25 / 0.17127 / 0.00667 / 25 / 0.17127 / 0.00601 / 8 / 0.07558 / 0.00240 / 10
Testudo horsfieldii / 12 / 0.19058 / 0.00107 / 12 / 0.19058 / 0.00159 / 12 / 0.19058 / 0.00761 / 12 / 0.19058 / 0.00942 / 9 / 0.20558 / 0.00820 / 10
Xerobates agassizii / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 7 / 2.03300 / 0.26429 / 1
Iguanidae
Amblyrhynchus cristatus / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 2 / 1.45000 / 0.34300 / 11
Basiliscus basiliscus / 2 / 0.02206 / 0.00009 / 2 / 0.02206 / 0.00015 / 2 / 0.02206 / 0.00040 / 2 / 0.02206 / 0.00034 / - / - / - / 13
Basiliscus plumifons / 1 / 0.19495 / 0.00107 / 1 / 0.19495 / 0.00094 / 1 / 0.19495 / 0.00300 / 1 / 0.19495 / 0.00130 / - / - / - / 13
Crotaphytus collaris / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 1 / 0.02143 / 0.00049 / - / - / - / 13
Dipsosaurus dorsalis / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 5 / 0.07340 / 0.00221 / 9
Iguana iguana / 17 / 0.48410 / 0.00405 / 17 / 0.48410 / 0.00224 / 17 / 0.48410 / 0.01644 / 17 / 0.48410 / 0.00710 / 1 / 2.85000 / 0.21660 / 12, 13
Sauromalus obesus / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 3 / 0.19310 / 0.00493 / 9
Sceloporus malachiticus / 5 / 0.01294 / 0.00005 / 5 / 0.01294 / 0.00008 / 5 / 0.01294 / 0.00018 / 5 / 0.01294 / 0.00017 / - / - / - / 13
Agamidae
Acanthosaurus lepidogaster / 4 / 0.04286 / 0.00024 / 4 / 0.04286 / 0.00026 / 4 / 0.04286 / 0.00102 / 4 / 0.04286 / 0.00071 / - / - / - / 13
Amphibolurus nuchalis / 18 / 0.03440 / 0.00039 / 18 / 0.03440 / 0.00065 / 18 / 0.03440 / 0.00368 / - / - / - / - / - / - / 5
Physignatus cocincinus / 4 / 0.15848 / 0.00075 / 4 / 0.15848 / 0.00084 / 4 / 0.15848 / 0.00510 / 4 / 0.15848 / 0.00173 / - / - / - / 13
Pogona viticeps / 6 / 0.22752 / 0.00123 / 6 / 0.22752 / 0.00110 / 6 / 0.22752 / 0.00811 / 6 / 0.22752 / 0.00380 / - / - / - / 13
Uromastyx acanthinurus / 7 / 0.05893 / 0.00025 / 7 / 0.05893 / 0.00033 / 7 / 0.05893 / 0.00270 / 7 / 0.05893 / 0.00151 / 7 / 0.05893 / 0.00205 / 13
Uromastyx aegyptius / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / 4 / 2.31000 / 0.42504 / 6
Chamaeleonidae
Chamaeleo calyptratus / 4 / 0.11303 / 0.00079 / 4 / 0.11303 / 0.00143 / 4 / 0.11303 / 0.00356 / 4 / 0.11303 / 0.00187 / - / - / - / 13
Chamaeleo laevigatus / 10 / 0.02864 / 0.00015 / 10 / 0.02864 / 0.00043 / 10 / 0.02864 / 0.00079 / 10 / 0.02864 / 0.00054 / - / - / - / 13
Chamaeleo oustaleti / 2 / 0.21375 / 0.00089 / 2 / 0.21375 / 0.00197 / 2 / 0.21375 / 0.00553 / 2 / 0.21375 / 0.00304 / - / - / - / 13
Cordylidae
Cordylus cordylus / 1 / 0.04215 / 0.00024 / 1 / 0.04215 / 0.00019 / 1 / 0.04215 / 0.00078 / 1 / 0.04215 / 0.00091 / - / - / - / 13
Varanidae
Varanus exanthematicus / 1 / 0.14385 / 0.00047 / 1 / 0.14385 / 0.00054 / 1 / 0.14385 / 0.00496 / 1 / 0.14385 / 0.00218 / - / - / - / 13
Varanus salvator / 5 / 0.16659 / 0.00071 / 5 / 0.16659 / 0.00134 / 5 / 0.16659 / 0.00544 / 5 / 0.16659 / 0.00330 / - / - / - / 13
Teiidae
Cnemidophorus tigris / 20 / 0.01413 / 0.00002 / 20 / 0.01413 / 0.00008 / 20 / 0.01413 / 0.00022 / - / - / - / - / - / - / 3
Tupinambis nigropunctatus / 5 / 0.15223 / 0.00056 / 5 / 0.15223 / 0.00056 / 5 / 0.15223 / 0.00217 / 5 / 0.15223 / 0.00140 / - / - / - / 13
Gekkonidae
Eublepharis macularius / 2 / 0.02485 / 0.00009 / 2 / 0.02485 / 0.00005 / 2 / 0.02485 / 0.00117 / 2 / 0.02485 / 0.00089 / - / - / - / 13
Phelsuma madagascariensis / 1 / 0.00779 / 0.00003 / 1 / 0.00779 / 0.00010 / 1 / 0.00779 / 0.00016 / 1 / 0.00779 / 0.00008 / - / - / - / 13
Scincidae
Corucia zebrata / - / - / - / - / - / - / 2 / 0.55750 / 0.02864 / 6 / 0.44783 / 0.01533 / 7 / 0.44929 / 0.01819 / 8
Boidae
Boinae* / 17 / 1.05217 / 0.00446 / 19 / 0.99007 / 0.00506 / 19 / 0.71491 / 0.01579 / 17 / 0.69798 / 0.02820 / - / - / - / 4
Pythoninae* / 30 / 0.42902 / 0.00167 / 29 / 0.40938 / 0.00296 / 30 / 0.44178 / 0.01054 / 29 / 0.45567 / 0.02011 / - / - / - / 4
Colubridae
Colubrinae* / 29 / 0.13849 / 0.00069 / 29 / 0.13849 / 0.00095 / 29 / 0.13860 / 0.00453 / 27 / 0.14850 / 0.00853 / - / - / - / 4

*animals only identified to the subfamily level

Sources

(1) Barboza, P. 1995 Digesta passage and functional anatomy of the digestive tract in the desert toroise (Xerobates agassizii). Journal Comparative Physiology B 165, 193-202.

(2) Bjorndal, K. & Bolten, A. 1990 Digestive processing in a herbivorous freshwater turtle: Consequences of small-intestine fermentation. Physiological Zoology 63, 1232-1247.

(3) Dohm, M., Garland Jr, T., Cole, C. & Townsend, C. 1998 Physiological variations and allometry in Western Whiptail Lizards (Cnemidophorus tigris) from a transect across a persistent hybrid zone. Copeia 1, 1-13.

(4) Eberle, A. 2007 Untersuchungen zur Körperzusammensetzung von Schlangen, pp. 191. München: Institut für Physiologie, Physiologische Chemie und Tierernährung der Tierärztlichen Fakultät der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

(5) Else, P. L. & Hulbert, A. J. 1981 Comparison of the "mammal machine" and the "reptile machine": energy production. American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 240, 3-9.

(6) Foley, W., Bouskila, A., Shkolnik, A. & Choshniak, I. 1992 Microbial digestion in the herbivorous lizard Uromastyx aegyptius (Agamidae). Journal of Zoology 226, 387-398.

(7) Hailey, A. 1997 Digestive efficiency and gut morphology of omnivorous and herbivorous African tortoises. Canadian Journal of Zoology 75, 787-794.

(8) Hummel, J. & Clauss, M. (pers. obs.)

(9) Karasov, W., Petrossian, E., Rosenberg, L. & Diamond, J. 1986 How do food passage rate and assimilation differ between herbivorous lizards and nonruminant mammals? Journal Comparative Physiology B 156, 599-609.

(10) Kopsch, G. 2006 Untersuchungen zur Körperzusammensetzung von Schildkröten, pp. 185. München: Institut für Physiologie, Physiologische Chemie und Tierernährung der Tierärtzlichen Fakultät der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

(11) Mackie, R., Rycyk, M., Ruemmler, R., Aminov, R. & Wikelski, M. 2004 Biochemical and microbiological evidence for fermentative digestion in free-living Land Iguana (Conolophus pallidus) and Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) on the Galapagos Archipelago. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 77, 127-138.

(12) Parra, R. 1978 Comparison of foregut and hindgut fermentation in herbivores. In The ecology of arboreal folivores (ed. G. G. Montgomery), pp. 209-229. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Inst. Press.

(13) Schneemeier, C. E. 2008 Untersuchungen zur Körperzusammensetzung von Echsen, pp. 221. München: Institut für Physiologie, Physiologische Chemie und Tierernährung der Tierärztlichen Fakultät der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.