A case of predation of Chacophrys pierottii (Anura: Ceratophryidae) by Philodryas psammophidea (Squamata: Dipsadinae) in the chacoan saltflats of central Argentina.Fil: Pereyra, Laura Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Facultad de Ingenieria. Centro de Investigaciones Basicas y Aplicadas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Akmentins, Mauricio Sebastián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentin

Akmentins, Mauricio Sebastián

Pereyra, Laura Cecilia

English

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On 4 December 2011 an adult male specimen of Philodryas psammophidea Gunther 1872 was observed preying on juveniles of Chacophrys pierottii (Vellard, 1948) in the locality of Salinas Grandes of the north-west of Córdoba province, Argentina (-29.596034° S, -64.853993° W; 187 m a.s.l.). The specimen of P. psammophidea was found at 13:00 pm, at the edge of a temporary pond (Fig. 1). The dominant vegetation of the area is composed of halophyte plants as “jumes” (Allenrolfea patagonica and Hetterostachys ritteriana) and “retortuños” (Prosopis strombulífera). Other amphibian species that were registered in the same temporary pond included adults of Lepidobatrachus llanensis, adults and tadpoles of Rhinella schneideri, and males and nests of Leptodactylus bufonius.The stomach content of the P. psammophidea specimen was extracted with the non-lethal technique of “regurgitation” (Carpenter, 1958). The obtained stomach content consisted of four juvenile C. pierottii with different degrees of digestion (Fig. 2 and 3). Once photographed and identified, the specimen of P. psammophidea was released at the same place of capture.There is scarce data on the feeding ecology of the snake P. psammophidea, but Scrocchi et al. (2010) reported that their diet consists of rodents and lizards. Therefore, this would represent the first record of consumption of amphibians in the diet of this species. Both species co-occur in a wide range of natural geographic distributions. Chacophrys pierottii is a characteristic species of saltflats of Dry Chaco eco-region in central and northern Argentina, also present in Bolivia and Paraguay (Cei, 1980; Lavilla and Heatwole, 2010). Meanwhile, P. psammophidea has a wider distribution range in Argentina, while it is also occurring in parts of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil (Scrocchi et al., 2010).More feeding ecology data is required to determine if amphibians are frequent preys in the diet of this snake, or if the consumption of C. pierottii is a case of opportunistic predation due to the ephemeral nature of their reproductive activity.Herpetology Notes, volume 6: 245-246 (2013) (published online on 14 June 2013)A case of predation of Chacophrys pierottii (Anura: Ceratophryidae) by Philodryas psammophidea (Squamata: Dipsadinae) in the chacoan saltflats of central ArgentinaLaura Cecilia Pereyra1,2,* and Mauricio Sebastián Akmentins1,2 1CONICET - Centro de Investigaciones Básicas y Aplicadas (CIBA), Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Gorriti 237 (4600), S.S. Jujuy, Argentina2Instituto de Bio y GeoCiencias del NOA (IBIGEO) Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta. Mendoza 2 (4400), Salta, Argentina*Corresponding author; e-mail: msakmentins@conicet.gov.arFigure 1. Panoramic view of the temporary pond where the predation event was registered in the Salinas Grandes, Córdoba province, Argentina. Laura Cecilia Pereyra & Mauricio Sebastián Akmentins246ReferencesCarpenter, C.C. (1958): Reproduction, young, eggs and food of Oklahoma snakes. Herpetologica 14: 113-115.Cei, J.M. (1980): Amphibians of Argentina. Monitore Zoologica Italiano, New Series Monografia, Firenze 2: 1-609.  Lavilla, E.O., Heatwole, H. (2010): Status of Amphibian conservation and decline in Argentina. In: Amphibian Biology. Volume 9. Status of decline of Amphibians. Western Hemisphere. Part 1. Paraguay, Chile and Argentina, p. 30-78. Heatwole, H., Ed., Surrey Beatty & Sons, Australia.Scrocchi, G.J., Abdala, C.S., Nori, J., Zaher, H. (2010): Reptiles de la provincial de Rio Negro, Argentina. Museo Patagónico de Ciencias Naturales, Fundación Patagónica de Ciencias Naturales, Fundación Miguel Lillo. Tucumán.Figure 2. Adult male specimen of Philodryas psammophidea with the stomach content obtained with the non-lethal technique of “regurgitation”Figure 3. Metamorphic specimen of Chacophrys pierottii.Accepted by Philip de Pous

A case of predation of Chacophrys pierottii (Anura: Ceratophryidae) by Philodryas psammophidea (Squamata: Dipsadinae) in the chacoan saltflats of central Argentina

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A case of predation of Chacophrys pierottii (Anura: Ceratophryidae) by Philodryas psammophidea (Squamata: Dipsadinae) in the chacoan saltflats of central Argentina

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