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| Is there such a thing as an innocuous commensal vertebrate? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 15 2016, 07:55 AM (854 Views) | |
| Thalanx | Dec 17 2016, 01:55 PM Post #16 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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Okay, small insectivorous reptiles are probably the best examples of innocuous commensal vertebrates, but probably only in their native ranges. |
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| Ceratodromeus | Dec 17 2016, 05:44 PM Post #17 |
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Aspiring herpetologist
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The snakes brought up fit as well. |
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| Thalanx | Dec 17 2016, 06:58 PM Post #18 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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I imagine that many people would not want to see snakes in and around their houses; purely due to fear of them. It's fair to assume that small lizards would not elicit the same reaction. There's also a chance that snakes that enter houses would be a threat to small pet animals, such as mice, rats, hamsters, rabbit kits, and kittens. Most small house-invading lizards probably don't pose the same threat. In this way, commensal snakes could be considered pests. |
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| Mesopredator | Dec 17 2016, 09:15 PM Post #19 |
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Disaster taxa
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Easy. I got this, watch: Cellar spiders and house centipedes. Sure, they are bit icky, but all they otherwise do is simply living off other insects that might potentially damage food stuffs and so forth. |
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| Thalanx | Dec 17 2016, 09:16 PM Post #20 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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spiders and centipedes have backbones? that one's news to me |
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| Mesopredator | Dec 17 2016, 09:19 PM Post #21 |
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Disaster taxa
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Meh didn't read the full question. Let me think of something else. |
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| Ceratodromeus | Dec 18 2016, 06:41 AM Post #22 |
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Aspiring herpetologist
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Sauropsids such as snakes and lizards both have innate fear or resentment attached to them, more extremely in the former than the latter. However in rural areas they are welcomed as they keep rodents and other mammalian pests low in numbers around settlements. Something like a colubrid is probably more warmly welcomed over an elapid, but both are usually not considered much of an issue for the reason i stated in my first sentence. Venomous snakes are removed from areas because of the risk of snake bite, but this isn't really something we see with the nonvenomous species. So i do believe that those animals definitely fit the criteria. Rather than the snakes being pests, they are more of a pest control; especially in the old world where rats and kin are detrimental to farmers' crops, snakes such as the rat snakes are pretty appreciated. Edited by Ceratodromeus, Dec 18 2016, 06:46 AM.
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| Thalanx | Dec 18 2016, 07:48 AM Post #23 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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You totally ignored the second half of what I wrote. Snakes may be welcomed as vermin-killers in rural areas, but they are a danger to small pet animals. A breeder of fancy rats, for example, will not want to see any vermin-eating snakes in and around their property. Small geckos don't pose the same threat. Ergo, vermin-killing snakes = threat to small pets = not innocuous commensal vertebrates. |
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| Ceratodromeus | Dec 18 2016, 07:56 AM Post #24 |
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Aspiring herpetologist
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I ignored nothing, and a word for the wise it is best not to make such erroneous and unfounded claims so early on in a conversation. Quite simply your what you said in the second half of your post was irrelevant to what i was saying and did not need to be addressed therefore. The fact that they are commensal in rural areas is the entire point of them being brought up, as that entirely suits your initial question for the thread. "they are a threat to small pets" isn't a sound argument on its own, but it's apparent you aren't much for a conversation any way so that'll be left on that. Edited by Ceratodromeus, Dec 18 2016, 08:19 AM.
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| Thalanx | Dec 18 2016, 08:43 AM Post #25 |
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Heterotrophic Organism
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I've found a much better example of an innocuous commensal vertebrate, anyway: Chimney swift![]() It largely depends on man-made structures to build nests on, and unlike sparrows and starlings, it only eats insects, and doesn't attack/kill other birds. There's a chance that it would compete with other insectivorous birds if it was introduced to a place where it did not previously exist, but that's all when it comes to notable impacts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimney_swift |
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2:09 AM Jul 14