No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
CORONELLA AUSTRIACA (Smooth Snake). DIET/CANNIBALISM.
... Interestingly all three victims were sloughing, as was the constricted neonate grass snake reported here. Also, Kolanek & Bury (2020) observed that a juvenile smooth snake attempted cannibalism of a sibling just after their first shed and suggested that the shed may have triggered this behaviour. A Norwegian Lundehund (small dog) trained for finding smooth snakes in eastern Norway finds clutches of newborn smooth snakes during their first slough that are not visible to us and detect sloughs that are hidden under vegetation (Rune Botnermyr, pers comm). ...
Summary
Jacob, R. & Johansen, B. S. (2024). When
snakes eat snakes: Smooth snake (Coronella
austriaca) predate on grass snakes (Natrix natrix)
and northern viper (Vipera berus) in Norway.
Additional unique photographs of predation on
other prey species. Fauna, 77 (3), 114-127.
In Norway, three photo-documentations from
2023 and 2024 reveal smooth snakes preying
on grass snakes, alongside one attempt to prey
on an adult melanistic viper in 2023. This paper
features these images and highlights similar
studies on ophiophagy. It also discusses the
role of sloughing odors as a predator response.
Additionally, we present unique photographs of
smooth snakes targeting other prey, including a
shrew (Sorex sp.), a dead wood mouse (Apodemus
sylvaticus), a common lizard (Zootoca vivipara),
and a slow worm (Anguis fragilis). Finally, we
present a unique image of a smooth snake
consuming eggs from a garden warbler (Sylvia
borin) nest in a tree.
The smooth snake has a surprisingly diverse diet,
and future analysis of fecal samples and stomach
contents using DNA sequencing will be valuable
for understanding the variety in prey species.
Spending time outdoors increases the chances
of encountering dramatic natural events, and
many people now carry camera-equipped mobile
phones to document these events. Observations of smooth snakes capturing prey are notable,
and anyone who documents such behavior is
encouraged to email their photos to Beate, who
organizes these findings.
Zdunek, P., Meier, G., Deso, G. 2023. Attempted cannibalism by adult smooth snakes Coronella austriaca in France and Switzerland. The Herpetological Bulletin 166: 27-28.
Escalante E.I., Zdunek P., Kolanek, A. 2023. Predation by a smooth snake Coronella austriaca of an aspic viper Vipera aspis in Spain. Herpetological Bulletin 163: 44–45.
The geographic mosaic of coevolution theory states that diversifying reciprocal selection between interacting organisms varies spatially resulting in local adaptation and speciation. Local variation in reciprocal selection produces geographic selection mosaics that lead to different evolutionary outcomes. Geographic mosaics are composed of hotspots with strong reciprocal selection and coldspots where reciprocal selection is weak or absent. Selection can also differ between hotspots where different environments alter reciprocal selection. Geographical selection mosaics will result in trait matching and local adaptation of some populations; but gene flow among areas experiencing divergent selection can result in trait remixing and maladapted populations.
Here, I report unusual coloration observed in O. okinavensis
- Tokyo Daiichishobo
- Japan Vii
Daiichishobo, Tokyo, Japan. Vii + 240 pp.). Here, I report unusual
coloration observed in O. okinavensis.
At 0119 h on 20 March 2017, a leucistic juvenile O. okinavensis (169 mm SVL, 29 mm tail length; Kyoto University, Graduate
School of Human and Environmental Studies [KUHE] 61971; Fig.
Keys to the Illustrated Manual of Japanese Reptiles and Amphibians in Natural Color. Hokuryukan, Tokyo. 296 pp.), however, to my knowledge this is the first report of leucism in O. okinavensis. the northern region of Brazil
in Amami-Oshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan (28.42641°N, 129.57841°Eand Ohtani 2011. Keys to the Illustrated Manual of Japanese Reptiles and Amphibians in Natural Color. Hokuryukan, Tokyo. 296 pp.), however, to my knowledge this is the first report of
leucism in O. okinavensis.
the northern region of Brazil, 46.3% of the prey were birds, especially Passeriformes (Scartozzoni et al. 2009. S. Am. J. Herpetol.
4:81-89).
At 1205 h on 24 October 2019, we found an adult O. fulgi-
Calle 35-C x 60, Fraccionamiento Colonia Buenavista
- Pedro E Nahuat-Cervera Ekuneil Península De Yucatán
PEDRO E. NAHUAT-CERVERA Ekuneil Península de Yucatán. Calle 52 x
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.nahuat4@gmail.com);
México (e-mail: lugo_ileana@hotmail.com)
- Yucatán Mérida
Mérida, Yucatán, México (e-mail: lugo_ileana@hotmail.com);
A few minutes later, the bird finished eating the snake and flew away from the site. Members of the family Momotidae feed on insects and small vertebrates (Lovette and Fitzpatrick
bird's beak. A few minutes later, the bird finished eating the snake
and flew away from the site.
Members of the family Momotidae feed on insects and small
vertebrates (Lovette and Fitzpatrick 2016. Handbook of Bird Biology. Third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Chichister, West Sussex. 736
pp.). Some species have been recorded preying on herpetofauna,
such as Baryphthengus martii (Master 1999. Wilson Bull. 111:439-
- Eumomota Ortiz-Lachica
and Eumomota superciliosa (Ortiz-Lachica et al. 2017. Mesoam. Herpetol. 4:630-631
Calle 52, 670, C.P. 97000, & Asociación Juvenil de Ciencia Yucatán
- Pedro E Nahuat-Cervera
- Ekuneil Península De Yucatán
PEDRO E. NAHUAT-CERVERA, Ekuneil Península de Yucatán. Calle 52,
670, C.P. 97000, & Asociación Juvenil de Ciencia Yucatán. Calle 35-C x 60, Fraccionamiento Colonia Buenavista, C.P. 97215, Mérida, Yucatán, México (e-mail:
pedro.nahuat4@gmail.com);
Departamento de Sistemática y Ecología Acuática
- J Cedeño-Vázquez
- El Colegio De La
- Frontera Sur
J. ROGELIO CEDEÑO-VÁZQUEZ, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur,
Departamento de Sistemática y Ecología Acuática, Av. Centenario Km 5.5,
C.P. 77014 Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México, (e-mail: rcedenov@ecosur.mx).
- Mcglothlin
McGlothlin et al. 2016. Curr. Biol. 26:1616-
- Hague
Hague et al. 2017. Evolution
71:1504-1518). Newts contain tetrodotoxin (TTX; Mosher et al.
- Wakely
Wakely et al. 1966. Toxicon 3:195-
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Northern Territory Government, Berrimah, NT 0828 e-mail: graeme
- Graeme R Gillespie
- Fauna Division
GRAEME R. GILLESPIE, Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Northern Territory Government, Berrimah, NT
0828 e-mail: graeme.gillespie@nt.gov.au);
) and X. unicolor is the only known host of Macrobothriotaenia ficta
A list of species of Meteterakis and their helminths was provided
by Junker et al. (2015. Syst. Parasitol. 92:131-139) and X. unicolor
is the only known host of Macrobothriotaenia ficta (Scholz et al.
2013, op. cit.). Voucher helminths were deposited in the Harold
W. Manter Parasitology Laboratory (HWML), The University of
Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA as Macrobothriotaenia ficta
(HWML 111563), Meteterakis longispiculata (HWML 111564),
Sphaerechinorhynchus serpenticola (HWML 111565
USA (e-mail: stephen
- Stephen P Mackessy
STEPHEN P. MACKESSY, University of Northern Colorado, School of Biological Sciences, Greeley, Colorado 80639, USA (e-mail: stephen.mackessy @
unco.edu).