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time in the surf are unclear, both La Vie (
op
.
cit
.) and Rodgers
(
op
.
cit
.) speculated that resting on wet beach sand during hot
weather may be a thermoregulatory behavior.
We thank Martin Brody and Travis Crabtree for helpful
comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. This paper
represents Technical Contribution Number 6699 of the Clemson
University Experiment Station.
THOMAS R. RAINWATER
, Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center & Belle W.
Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest S cience, Clemson University,
P.O. Box 596, Georgetown, South Carolina 29442, USA; SHANE BOYLAN,
South Carolina Aquarium, 100 Aquarium Wharf, Charleston, South Carolina
29401, USA (e-mail: SBoylan@scaquarium.org); ANNDE PFEI FER, Exotic
Vet Care, 814 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina 29464, USA
(e-mail: apfeifer111@gmail.com); STEVEN G. PLATT, Wildlife Conservation
Society - Myanmar Program, No. 12, Nanrattaw St., Kamayut Township,
Yangon, Myanmar (e-mail: sgplatt@gmail.com).
HIEROPHIS CASPIUS
(Caspian Whip Snake).
DIET.
Hierophis
caspius
is the largest snake in the Caucasus. Its diet includes a
variety of vertebrates including other snakes (Dorward 2014.
Herpetol. Notes 7:165–166). On 13 August 2018, on the shore of
a pond in the vicinity of Baltiysky village, Stavropol Krai, Russia
(43.88620°N, 44.3406487°E, WGS 84; 192 m elev.) we observed a
large adult male
H. caspius
(total length = 177 cm) holding an
adult
Natrix tessellata
(Dice Snake) in its jaws. Unfortunately,
this snake was killed by fishermen. This is the first recorded
case of a
H. caspius
preying on
N. tessellata
, although it has
been previously noted to prey on
Natrix natrix
(Grass Snake)
(Bannikov et al. 1977. Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of the
USSR Fauna. Moscow, Prosveshchenie. 414 pp. [in Russian];
Cattaneo 2001. Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale
di Venezia 52:155–181). Additionally, the closely related species
Hierophis schmidti
(Schmidt’s Whip Snake) has been observed
preying on
N. tessellata
in Turkmenistan (Atayev 1985. Reptiles
of the Mountains of Turkmenistan. Ashgabat, Ylym. 345 . [in
Russian]).
IGOR V. DOR ONIN, Department of Herpetology, Zoological institute
of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia; e-mail:
ivdoronin@mail.ru.
HYPSIGLENACHLOROPHAEA
(DesertNightsnake).
PREDATION.
On 27 May 2017, at 0741 h, at Lower Whitmore Camp along the
Colorado River (River Mile 188.5) inside the Grand Canyon,
Arizona, USA (36.14274°N, 113.20213°W, WGS 84; 488 m elev.), an
adult
Hypsiglena chlorophaea
(~ 40 cm SVL) was observed being
actively consumed by an adult
Hadrurus arizonensis
(Giant
Hairy Scorpion; Fig. 1). Upon discovery, the scorpion had the
already dead snake firmly gripped in its right pedipalp. Closer
inspection revealed the scorpion to be actively consuming the
snake at the anterior end, with portions of the snake’s rostral
skin and underlying musculature already removed. After several
minutes of observation and photography, the scorpion was left
undisturbed to continue its meal. The ultimate outcome of this
interaction is unknown.
It was unclear whether this was an instance of active
predation or simply scavenging, as the initial encounter was not
observed. Additionally, the snake was noted to have a wound on
the distal third of the body, of a size that could have proven fatal
(Fig. 1). Observation failed to elucidate whether this wound was
inflicted by the scorpion, or if the snake had been injured and
possibly killed by another animal or environmental event and
then picked up and scavenged by the scorpion. Given the size
difference between the two animals, the second explanation
seems the most plausible.
Although predation on
H. chlorophaea
by a black widow
spider (
Latrodectus mactans
) (Ervin and Carroll 2007. Herpetol.
Rev. 38:468) and on
H. jani
by another scorpion species (Hibbitts
1992. Herpetol. Rev. 23:120) has been reported, this is the first
report of predation/scavenging of
Hypsiglena
by
H. arizonensis
.
However, predation of other snake species by
Hadruru
s is
relatively common. In fact, in a review of arthropod predation
of vertebrates (McCormick and Polis 1982. Biol. Rev. 57:29–58),
it was reported that as much as 10% of the diet of
Hadrurus
may
consist of snakes from the genus
Leptotyphlops
, at least in some
insect-depauperate habitats.
Hadrurus
have also been reported
preying upon lizards of masses comparable to that of
Hypsiglena
.
Thus, predation on this and other small snake species by
scorpions from the genus
Hadrurus
is perhaps not uncommon.
WILLIAM H. HEYBORNE, Department of Biology, Southern Utah
University, Cedar City, Utah 84720, USA (e-mail: williamheyborne@suu.
edu); MIKENNA CLO KEY, Moab, Utah 84532, USA.
INDOTYPHLOPS BRAMINUS
(Brahminy Blind Snake).
DIET.
Indotyphlops braminus
is one of the most widely distributed
snake species, probably native to the Southeast Asia (Wallach
2009. Hamadryad 34:34–61). The species is fossorial in nature,
inhabiting moist soil and is a specialized feeder on ants, termites,
and their eggs (Mizuno and Kojima 2015. J. Zool. 297:220–224).
Reports of
I. braminus
feeding by decapitating termite prey by
Mizuno and Kojima (
op. cit
.) have prompted much interest in its
feeding traits, but little is known about its natural history. During
Herpetological Review 50(1), 2019
F
ig
.
1. Orthopteran prey regurgitated by an
Indotyphlops braminus
.
Note that the prey appears to be broken into smaller segments.
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
159
F
ig
.
1. Adult
Hypsiglena chlorophaea
being consumed by
Hadrurus
arizonensis
.