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Predation on Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Squamata, Typhlopidae) by Bothrops moojeni (Squamata, Viperidae) in west Brazil

Authors:
José Gonçalves de Oliveira-Jr
José Gonçalves de Oliveira-Jr
José Gonçalves de Oliveira-Jr
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Karoline Ceron at Federal University of Ceará
Karoline Ceron
Sarah Mângia at Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul
Sarah Mângia
  • Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul
Isabela Caroline at Universidade Católica Dom Bosco (UCDB)
Isabela Caroline
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Ophyophagy is a common feeding habit in snakes; however, there are few records of this behavior for the genus Bothrops. Here, we report the first case of predation of Bothrops moojeni upon Amerotyphlops brongersmianus. Our record reinforces the known generalist habit of B. moojeni and indicates an opportunistic diet.
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Predation on Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Squamata, Typhlopidae) by Bothrops moojeni (Squamata, Viperidae) in west Braz
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150
Caldasia 42(1):150-152 | Enero-junio 2020
http://www.revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/cal
SHORT NOTE
Predaon on Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Squamata, Typhlopidae)
by Bothrops moojeni (Squamata, Viperidae) in west Brazil
Depredación de Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Squamata, Typhlopidae)
por Bothrops moojeni (Squamata, Viperidae) en el oeste de Brasil
José Gonçalves De Oliveira-Jr 1 | Karoline Ceron 1* | Sarah Mângia 1 | Isabela C. O Da Silva 2 | José Luiz Massao Moreira
Sugai 1 | Diego J. Santana 1
Citaon: Oliveira-Jr JG, Ceron K, Mângia S, Silva ICO, Sugai JLMM, Santana DJ. 2020 Predaon on Amerotyphlops
brongersmianus (Squamata, Typhlopidae) by Bothrops moojeni (Squamata, Viperidae) in West Brazil. Caldasia
42(1):150–152. doi: hps://dx.doi.org/10.15446/caldasia.v42n1.74998.
ABSTRACT
Ophyophagy is a common feeding habit in snakes; however, there are few records of this behavior for the
genus Bothrops. Here, we report the rst case of predation of Bothrops moojeni upon Amerotyphlops
brongersmianus. Our record reinforces the known generalist habit of Bothrops moojeni and indicates
an opportunistic diet.
Keywords. Diet, ophyophagy, pitvipers, snakes, wormsnakes
RESUMEN
Oofagia es un hábito alimenticio común en serpientes, sin embargo, hay pocos registros de este com-
portamiento para el género Bothrops. En el presente trabajo reportamos el primer caso de depredación
de Bothrops moojeni en Amerotyphlops brongersmianus. Nuestro registro refuerza el conocimiento
del hábito generalista de Bothrops moojeni e indica una dieta oportunista de esta especie.
Palabras clave. Dieta, oofagia, serpientes, serpientes-gusano, víboras
• Received: 17/oct/2018
• Accepted: 13/aug/2019
• Published online: 29/oct/2019
1 Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Instuto de Biociências, Cidade Universitária, CEP 79002-970, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul,
Brazil,
jose_jr_96@hotmail.com
,
adenomera@gmail.com
*,
sarahmangia@yahoo.com.br
,
jlmassao@gmail.com
,
santanadiegojose@yahoo.com
2 Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Laboratório de Parasitologia Animal, Cidade Universitária, CEP 79070-900, Campo Grande, MS,
Brazil,
isabela.caroline@hotmail.com
* Corresponding author
CALDASIA
Fundada en 1940
ISSN 0366-5232 (impreso)
ISSN 2357-3759 (en línea)
151
Oliveira-Jr et al. 2020, Caldasia 42(1):150-152
All the species of snakes are carnivorous, and most of them
are generalists regarding the prey (Martins et al. 2002).
Ophiophagy, when a species feeds on snakes, is not a rare
feeding habit in snakes; such is the case of the mussura-
nas (Clelia spp.) and the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah
Cantor, 1836) (Marques et al. 2016).
Bothrops moojeni Hoge, 1966 is a nocturnal, large pit viper
distributed in central and southeastern Brazil, throughout
riparian forests and adjacent open areas in the Cerrado
morphoclimatic domain (Campbell and Lamar 2004). Its
diet is composed mainly by mammals, frogs, and lizards
(Nogueira et al. 2003). Nogueira et al. (2003) also recor-
ded snakes on the B. moojeni diet; however, the authors
did not specify the identity of the preyed species. Here,
we report the rst case of predation of Bothrops moojeni
upon two individuals of Amerotyphlops brongersmianus
(Vanzolini, 1976), a fossorial snake widely distributed in
South America, inhabiting various habitats (Dixon and
Hendricks 1979).
On 1º February 2018, during a eldwork at Parque Es-
tadual das Nascentes do Rio Taquari (18º15’87” South,
53º41’767” West, 450 m) in Alcinópolis municipality,
Mato Grosso do Sul state, Midwest Brazil, we captured an
adult of B. moojeni (ZUFMS-REP 3318, SVL = 750 mm,
tail = 170 mm) (Collection permit SISBIO #45889/1 and
IMASUL #71/400151/2018). During the analysis of par-
asitism in the body of B. moojeni, we found two indivi-
duals of A. brongersmianus in the stomach of B. moojeni
(ZUFMS-REP 3319, SVL = 60.68 mm and ZUFMS-REP
3320, SLV = 120.32 mm) (Fig. 1). All the three snakes
are housed at Coleção Zoológica da Universidade Federal
de Mato Grosso do Sul.
There are few records of ophiophagy for the genus Bothrops
(e.g. B. leucurus – Fagundes et al. 2009; B. atrox - Oliveira
and Martins 1996; B. jararacussu - De Roodt and Lanari
2015; B. moojeni – Nogueira et al. 2003). Previous studies
indicate that the genus is composed by generalist species,
feeding on small rodents, amphibians, lizards, and sh
(B. jararaca - Hartmann et al. 2009, B. atrox - Bernarde
and Abe 2010).
Bothrops moojeni also shows an ontogenetic diet shift,
varying from ectothermic to endothermic prey throughout
Figure 1. Two individuals of
Amerotyphlops brongersmianus
(SVL = 60.68 mm, ZUFMS-REP
3319 and SLV = 120.32 mm,
ZUFMS-REP 3320) preyed by an
adult of Bothrops moojeni (SVL =
750 mm, ZUFMS-REP 3318).
152
Oliveira-Jr et al. 2020, Caldasia 42(1):150-152
its life (Nogueira et al. 2003), with adults preying more
frequently on mammals (França et al. 2008). This is the
rst record of A. brongermianus as prey of B. moojeni.
Besides our observation, this fossorial snake was already
reported as prey of Bothrops leucurus Wagler, 1824 and
Micrurus ibiboboca (Merrem, 1820) (Baptista et al. 2016,
Marques et al. 2016). Our record reinforces the known ge-
neralist habit of B. moojeni and indicates an opportunistic
diet, with the snake feeding on preys that share and inha-
bits the same habitat.
AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION
KC, ICO, JLMMS and DJS collected data; JGOJr and SM led
the writing with contributions from all authors, interpreta-
tion and discussion of the results.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that there is no conict of interest.
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