Philodryas patagoniensis is a mid-sized, diurnal, and predominantly terrestrial snake inhabiting open areas such as savannahs and grasslands (Cei 1993. Reptiles del Noroeste, Nordeste y Este de la Argentina. Herpetofauna de las Selvas Subtropicales, Puna y Pampas. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino. 945 pp.; López and Giraudo 2008. J. Herpetol. 42:474–480). Although it is a widely distributed in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and Uruguay (Giraudo and Scrocchi 2002. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 132:1–53), there are only few published studies on the ecology or natural history of P. patagoniensis. Here we report the first observation of predation on P. patagoniensis by a Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango).Fil: Brizio, María Victoria. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Facultad de Ciencias del Ambiente y la Salud; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Avila, Luciano Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales; Argentin

Avila, Luciano Javier

Brizio, María Victoria

English

CONICET Digital

Herpetological Review 50(2), 2019398    NATURAL HISTORY NOTESanterior portion of the snake was protruding out of the mouth of the C. livia. The observation took place in a gallery forest in the urban part of Tangará da Serra, Mato Grosso, Brazil (57.47933°E, 14.62961°N; WGS 84; 395 m elev.), which is characterized by transitional vegetation between Amazonia Forest and Cerrado Savannah. This is the first report of predation on P. olfersii by a juvenile domestic pigeon followed by the death of the bird. Some birds, such as raptors, are effective snake hunters, while others are not (Travaglia-Cardoso and Almeida-Santos 2012, op. cit.). Snakes are not commonly reported in the diet of C. livia and this event suggests opportunistic predation of a juvenile P. olfersii. We assume that the snake was killed by having its head crushed (Fig. 1) by an adult C. livia and offered to the juvenile. Moreover, we hypothesized that miscalculations in the size of the prey offered to juveniles may be a maladaptation to the species.We thank F. F. Curcio for depositing the snake at the Coleção Zoológica de Vertebrados da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil, under the number UFMT-R 12283.ROMARIO DA SILVA (e-mail: romario.silva@unemat.br); DIONES KRINSKI, Laboratory of Zoology, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Tangará da Serra, Mato Grosso, Brazil (e-mail: diones.krinski@unemat.br); BRUNO FELIPE CAMERA, Laboratory of Herpetology, Universidade Fed-eral de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil (e-mail: camerabfelipe@gmail.com).PHILODRYAS PATAGONIENSIS (Patagonian Green Racer). PREDATION. Philodryas patagoniensis is a mid-sized, diurnal, and predominantly terrestrial snake inhabiting open areas such as savannahs and grasslands (Cei 1993. Reptiles del Noroeste, Nordeste y Este de la Argentina. Herpetofauna de las Selvas Subtropicales, Puna y Pampas. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino. 945 pp.; López and Giraudo 2008. J. Herpetol. 42:474–480). Although it is a widely distributed in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and Uruguay (Giraudo and Scrocchi 2002. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 132:1–53), there are only few published studies on the ecology or natural history of P. patagoniensis. Here we report the first observation of predation on P. patagoniensis by a Chimango Caracara (Milvago chimango).At 1235 h on 16 November 2018, during a photographic campaign in Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina (38.9655°S, 61.3201°W; WGS 84; 11 m elev.), we observed a Chimango Caracara flying away with a P. patagoniensis in its claws. Due to strong wind, the bird dropped the snake and continued flying (Fig. 1A). However, after a few minutes the Chimango Caracara returned and collected its prey (Fig. 1B).MARÍA VICTORIA BRIZIO, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Facul-tad de Ciencias del ambiente y la Salud, Buenos Aires 1400, 8300, Neuquén, Neuquén, Argentina (e-mail: mvictoria.brizio@gmail.com); LUCIANO JA-VIER AVILA, CENPAT-CONICET, Boulevard Almirante Brown s/n, U9120ACV, Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina (e-mail: avila@cenpat.edu.ar).PITUOPHIS MELANOLEUCUS MUGITUS (Florida Pinesnake). REPRODUCTION/NEST SITE. The only previously reported nest location for Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus was a clutch of six recently hatched eggs buried ca. 20 cm deep in the apron of a Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrow in sandhill habitat in Georgia (Stevenson 2017. Herpetol. Rev. 48:680). Here, we describe two additional clutches from this subspecies found in the wild.On 19 July 2018, a clutch of eight P. melanoleucus mugitus eggs (Florida Museum of Natural History [UF] 185225; color photo) was discovered while excavating G. polyphemus burrows for relocation from a highway development site in Citrus County, Florida, USA. The clutch was situated in a small cavity off the chamber at the end of a 4-m-long burrow that was occupied by a small, adult male G. polyphemus (187 mm straight-line carapace length). The egg chamber, which was likely excavated by the snake itself, was situated ca. 2 m below the surface at the intersection of the final chamber and an adjoining rodent burrow; the snake could have accessed the subterranean nesting location through either opening. The burrow was in a 7-ha stand of densely planted, 7-year-old Sand Pines (Pinus clausa), 50 m from the edge of improved pasture planted in Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum). Grassy ground cover, G. polyphemus burrows, and Southeastern Pocket Gopher (Geomys pinetis) mounds were sparse in the pine plantation and much denser in the surrounding improved pasture, which was former sandhill habitat. On 9 August 2018, a clutch of five P. m. mugitus eggs (UF 185748; color photo) was discovered 1.85 km from the other clutch while excavating an occupied G. polyphemus burrow in Citrus County. This clutch was ca. 30 cm below the surface in overgrown sandhill habitat with a canopy of predominantly Sand Live Oak (Quercus geminata), Turkey Oak (Q. laevis), and Post Oak (Q. stellata), 103 m from a mown powerline right-of-way. The egg chamber was apparently dug by the snake in sand beneath oak leaf litter and was not associated with the G. polyphemus burrow situated ca. 3 m away.Based on our observations, P. m. mugitus excavates short nest burrows or nests in the burrows of other animals, including Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus; G. Bartolotti, pers. comm.). These observations are consistent with earlier fig. 1. Death of a juvenile Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia) after ingestion of the snake Philodryas olfersii. A) Lateral view of the bird with the snake coming out of the mouth; B) lower view of the bird showing abdominal swelling; C) parts of the body of the snake after being withdrawn from inside the bird; D, E) detail of the crushed head of snake. Scale bar = 1 cm. PHOTOS BY B. F. CAMERAfig. 1. A) Philodryas patagoniensis after being released by Milvago chimango; B) M. chimango returning to its prey.

Philodryas patagoniensis (Patagonian Green Racer) : Predation

LAReferencia - Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas Latinoamericanas

https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/11336/107422/2/CONICET_Digital_Nro.55cb5266-7418-453a-be16-923b7b66c982_A.pdf

Philodryas patagoniensis (Patagonian Green Racer) : Predation

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

CONICET Digital

LAReferencia - Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas Latinoamericanas