Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are known to include snakes and other reptiles in their diet (König et al. 1999. Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, Connecticut. 462 pp.). On 25 October 2008, on Provincial Road 7, 20 km E Paso Cordova, Departamento El Cuy, Rio Negro Province, Argentina (39.1818ºS, 67.4053ºW, datum WGS84; elev. 405 m), a set of regurgitated A. cunicularia pellets was collected near an active owl burrow.Fil: Formoso, Anahí Elizabeth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Podestá, Darío Hector. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Avila, Luciano Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin

Avila, Luciano Javier

Formoso, Anahí Elizabeth

Podestá, Darío Hector

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Herpetological Review 41(4), 2010 501Herpetología, Apartado Postal-513, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, C.P. 66450, México (e-mail: dlazcanov@hotmail.com).EPICRATES CENCHRIA (Salamanta; Rainbow Boa). DIET. Snakes in the genus Epicrates are dietary generalists, feeding on both endothermic and ectothermic prey, particularly lizards, mid-sized mammals, and birds (Henderson et al. 1987. Amphib-ia-Reptilia 8:251–258). The genus is endemic to the New World Neotropics and contains 14 species (Passos and Fernandes 2008. Herpetol. Monogr. 22:1–30). Epicrates cenchria occurs in for-ested regions of the Amazon Basin of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana, and Bra-zil and in a disjunct population in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil, from Alagoas to Rio de Janeiro states (Passos and Fernandes, op. cit.). Until recently, E. cenchria was subdivided into nine sub-species (McDiarmid et al. 1999. Snakes Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographical Reference, Vol. 1. The Herpe-tologist’s League, Washington, DC), but a taxonomic revision based on external morphology, osteology, and hemipenis char-acters rearranged this complex into five species that inhabit the South American continent: E. alvarezi, E. assisi, E. cenchria, E. crassus, and E. maurus (Passos and Fernandes, op. cit.). The re-maining species in the genus are restricted to islands in the West Indies (Kluge, op. cit.; McDiarmid et al., op. cit.).  Several works have documented ontogenetic shifts in the diet of some species in this genus. Diet of larger species varies on-togenetically, from specializing on anoline lizards when young to widely generalist feeding as adults (e.g., Chandler and Tolson 1990. J. Herpetol. 24:151–157; Henderson et al., op. cit.; Sheplan and Schwartz 1974. Ann. Carnegie Mus. Nat. Hist. 45:57–143; Wiley 2003. Carib. J. Sci. 39:189–194). For the newly split E. cenchria complex, E. assisi from the Caatinga biome of Brazil eats mammals, bird eggs, and lizards. Epicrates crassus from the Brazilian Cerrado biome feeds on birds and mammals. Epicrates cenchria preys on mammals, mainly rodents, birds, bird eggs, bats, frogs, and lizards (see Pizzato et al. 2009. Amphibia-Rep-tilia 30:533–544, and references therein). There are no records on the diet of the other continental species. Herein, we record an additional and unusual prey item for the genus Epicrates. On a morning in March 2001, JC collected a large (total length = 175 cm; tail length 20.8 cm) E. cenchria crossing a trail in a remnant of Atlantic rainforest (19.735914°S, 41.824673°W, da-tum WGS84; elev. ca. 455 m) at Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Feliciano Miguel Abdala (RPPN-FMA), Caratinga mu-nicipality, Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. Examination of the stomach contents of this specimen revealed an unusual food item, a quill of an unidentified porcupine (Erethizontidae: Rodentia: Mammalia). This represents a new diet record for the genus Epicrates. Predation on porcupines has been described for several other snakes, mostly in the family Boidae (Cherubini et al. 2003 J. Venom. Anim. Toxins 9:117–124; Duarte 2003 Phyllo-medusa 2:109–112). The snake was deposited in the herpetologi-cal collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP 14474; J. Cassimiro field number JC 517). We are grateful to Bárbara N. Costa for help in the identifica-tion of the prey item. Felipe F. Curcio verified snake identifica-tion. JC also thanks Karen B. Strier for providing facilities during fieldwork and for funding during his work in the RPPN-FMA through the following institutions: Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, Na-tional Geographic Society, and Graduate School of the Wiscon-sin-Madison University. Submitted by JOSÉ CASSIMIRO, Departamento de Zoolo-gia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 11.461, CEP 05422–970, São Paulo, SP, Brazil (e-mail: geckoides@gmail.com); CESAR FELIPE DE SOUZA PAL-MUTI, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológi-cas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270–901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil (e-mail: ce-sarfsp@yahoo.com); and JAIME BERTOLUCI, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz,” Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias, 11, Caixa Postal 9, CEP 13418–900, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil (e-mail: bertoluc@esalq.usp.br).LEPTOTYPHLOPS AUSTRALIS (NCN). PREDATION. Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) are known to include snakes and other reptiles in their diet (König et al. 1999. Owls: A Guide to the Owls of the World. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, Connecticut. 462 pp.). On 25 October 2008, on Provincial Road 7, 20 km E Paso Cordova, Departamento El Cuy, Rio Negro Province, Argentina (39.1818ºS, 67.4053ºW, datum WGS84; elev. 405 m), a set of regurgitated A. cunicularia pellets was collected near an active owl burrow. Laboratory study revealed remains of four snakes in the pellets, all identified as Leptotyphlops. The damage inflicted to the heads of the specimens made identification to species level difficult, but the coloration, morphometrics, and scale patterns of the individuals were consistent with L. australis (Cei 1986. Reptiles del Centro, Centro-Oeste y Sur de la Argentina. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, Mon. 4. 527 pp.). This represents the first record of predation on L. australis by Burrowing Owls. Submitted by ANAHI FORMOSO, DARIO PODESTA, and LUCIANO JAVIER AVILA (e-mail: avila@cenpat.edu.ar), CENPAT-CONICET, Boulevard Almirante Brown 2915, U9120ACD, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.MICRURUS FULvIUS (Harlequin Coralsnake). DIET. Micrurus fulvius is known to prey upon amphisbaenids, anguids, scincids, elapids, and colubrids (Jackson and Franz 1981. Herpetologica 37:221–224), however it has not been documented preying upon nonindigenous species. Herein, we document M. fulvius preying upon a Ramphotyphlops braminus (Brahminy Blindsnake).  On 1 September 2009, a M. fulvius (female; SVL = 38.7 cm) was found dead-on-road (DOR) at the Pine Island maintenance area in Everglades National Park, Miami-Dade Co., Florida, USA (25.384178°N, 80.594128°W, datum WGS84; elev. <1 m), and was deposited in the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (UF 156838, EVER 40584). Upon taking a tissue sample from an opening likely caused by vehicle impact, we noticed a foreign body protruding from the snake’s abdomen. 

Leptotyphlops Australis (NCN): Predation

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Leptotyphlops Australis (NCN): Predation

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