Predation on a tropical house gecko, <i>Hemidactylus mabouia</i> by a juvenile colubrid snake, <i>Chironius bicarinatus</i>, in a Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest area
Snakes in the Neotropical genus Chironius are mainly batrachophagous, and tend to consume relatively small prey. We present a report of a juvenile Chironius bicarinatus that had ingested a house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) corresponding to ca. 62% of its preserved body mass. The ingestion of such...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Articulo Comunicacion |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
2016
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/55898 http://ppct.caicyt.gov.ar/index.php/cuadherpetol/article/view/7752/8411 |
| Aporte de: |
| Sumario: | Snakes in the Neotropical genus Chironius are mainly batrachophagous, and tend to consume relatively small prey. We present a report of a juvenile Chironius bicarinatus that had ingested a house gecko (Hemidactylus mabouia) corresponding to ca. 62% of its preserved body mass.
The ingestion of such a large prey item is unusual for a snake of the genus Chironius, as is the consumption of lizards. Consumption of unusually large prey items may be more common in young snakes than in adults, possibly due to a lower availability of prey of appropriate size and/ or to a lower capacity to evaluate the size of potential prey. |
|---|