AN INVESTIGATION OF KIN RECOGNITION ABILITIES IN LARVAL 4-TOED SALAMANDERS, HEMIDACTYLIUM-SCUTATUM (CAUDATA, PLETHODONTIDAE)

We studied larvae of the four-toed salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum, to determine the ability of individuals to discriminate between relat ed and familiar conspecifics, An assay of agonistic behaviors was used as a measure of recognition. To distinguish between direct recognitio n and recognition of conspecifics through familiarity (indirect recogn ition), we used a two factor design yielding four treatments: familiar siblings, unfamiliar siblings, familiar non-siblings, and unfamiliar non-siblings. Larvae of Hemidactylium did not show statistically signi ficant kin recognition ability or the ability to recognize conspecific s based on familiarity. These results are consistent with the larval e cology of these organisms, which is characterized by a low population density and no schooling behavior.