How do skinks and whiptail lizards search for prey?

Skinks and whiptail lizards are classified as autarchoglossan lizards, which employ an active foraging strategy to locate prey. Unlike "sit-and-wait" predators that rely primarily on visual cues from a stationary position, these lizards actively search their environment by probing and digging.1

To find food, they utilize a combination of visual cues and a highly developed chemosensory system known as vomerolfaction. This process involves using their tongues to collect chemical signals from the environment, which are then processed by the Jacobson’s organ (or vomeronasal organ) located in the roof of the mouth. Because their tongues are dedicated to this chemoreceptive function, these lizards capture their prey using their jaws, a method known as jaw prehension. This reliance on chemical discrimination is a hallmark of their active foraging behavior.1234