Content uploaded by Pedro E. Nahuat-Cervera
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Pedro E. Nahuat-Cervera on Jun 06, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
Herpetological Review 51(2), 2020
363NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 363
TROPIDODIPSAS FASCIATA (Banded Snail Sucker). REPRO-
DUCTION. Tropidodipsas fasciata is a medium-sized nocturnal
snake (total length [TL] to ca. 720 mm) that occurs in Mexico
(Chiapas, Guerrero, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Vera-
cruz and the Yucatan Peninsula; Uetz et al. 2019. http://www.rep-
tile-database.org), and inhabits tropical scrub forest, deciduous
forest, semi-evergreen seasonal forest, and marginally montane
rain forest (Heimes 2016. Herpetofauna Mexicana Vol. I. Snakes
of Mexico. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 572
pp; Lee 2000. A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of
the Mayan World. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
402 pp.). In the Yucatán Peninsula, this species is considered un-
common, with crepuscular and nocturnal habits. Its morphol-
ogy suggests an arboreal lifestyle, with some individuals being
recorded in trees at heights of several meters. Reproduction in
this species is poorly known, with available literature suggesting
it being oviparous like other species in the genus Tropidodipsas
(Lee 2000, op. cit.), with hatching occurring around June and July
(Davis 1953. Copeia 1953:187–188).
On 20 July 2019, at 0109 h, we observed a female (ca. 700
mm TL) and a male (ca. 650 mm TL) T. fasciata 1.2 m above the
ground in a small tree, along a transect on Km 27, in the southern
core zone of Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, México
(18.31561°N, 89.85712°W; WGS 84). Both snakes were entwined,
but not mating, with the male snake slightly higher in the tree
than the female. The male snake was immobile and seemed to be
smelling the female. Five minutes after this initial observation, a
second male snake (ca. 600 mm TL) was observed on the ground
2 m away inspecting the leaf-litter.
The second male was searching for the female, presumably
following chemical cues left by her, using his tongue and slowly
heading towards the other two individuals in the tree. The
third snake then climbed the small tree, smelling the body of
the female, to align their bodies in the same position. The first
male moved higher up in the tree, leaving only his tail near the
female’s neck (Fig. 1). The second male then intertwined its tail
with the female’s, and they started mating. No courtship was
observed before mating. After this, the first male descended the
tree and left of the area. Two videos of this event were recorded
by KRW and uploaded into YouTube (Video 1: https://youtu.be/
ucsvW64jv14; Video 2: https://youtu.be/t36eYhmXiWo). To our
knowledge, this is the first observed record of the reproductive
behaviour of T. fasciata.
PEDRO E. NAHUAT-CERVERA, Ekuneil Península de Yucatán. Cal-
le 52 por 89 y 93, Colonia Centro, C.P. 97000. Mérida, Yucatán, México &
Asociación Juvenil de Ciencia Yucatán. Calle 35-C x 60, Fraccionamiento
Colonia Buenavista. C.P. 97215. Mérida, Yucatán, México, (e-mail: pedro.na-
huat4@gmail.com); KIM R. WALLIS, Essex & Suolk Water, Sandon Valley
House, East Hanningeld, Essex, UK & School of Life Sciences - University
of Essex, Essex, UK, (e-mail: kimrwallis@hotmail.com); JOSÉ ANTÓNIO L.
BARÃO-NÓBREGA, Operation Wallacea, Wallace House, Lincolnshire, UK
& School of Environment and Life Sciences - University of Salford, Lan-
cashire, UK, (e-mail: jose.antonio@opwall.com).
Fig. 1. Three individuals of Tropidodipsas fasciata entwined together
in a small tree in Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico.