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Herpetological Review 52(4), 2021
884 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
Mount Graham (Dutt et al. 2020. PLoS ONE 15:e0242104).
On 23 June 2020, at 1617 h (32.6978°N, 109.9070°W; WGS 84;
2847 m elev.), one of us (KLH) encountered an adult T. e. vagrans
constricting a M. l. leucophaeus (Fig. 1). The moment of capture
was not witnessed, but the vole was still vocalizing. The duration
of observation was ca. 60 sec and did not include confirmation of
consumption. It is known that T. e. vagrans in higher elevations
will feed on small mammals, including voles (Ernst and Ernst
2003, op. cit.). However, to our knowledge, this is the first
observation of T. e. vagrans preying upon M. l. leucophaeus.
Given the broad dietary range of this generalist gartersnake, our
observation is not surprising. However, it is not known to what
extent the snakes present predation pressures on this already
restricted M. l. leucophaeus population of conservation concern
(Dutt et al. 2020, op. cit.) or if voles comprise a substantial diet
source for T. e. vagrans in the Pinaleño Mountains.
BRIAN R. BLAIS (e-mail: opheodrys1@gmail.com), KIRA L. HEFTY
(e-mail: klhefty@arizona.edu), and NEIL R. DUTT, School of Natural Re-
sources and the Environment, University of Arizona, 1064 E. Lowell Street,
Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA (e-mail: neildutt89@gmail.com).
THAMNOPHIS SIRTALIS (Eastern Garter Snake). REPRODUC-
TIVE BEHAVIOR. Thamnophis sirtalis is a widespread snake
species, occurring across much of the United States, including
the Great Lakes region (Harding and Mifsud 2017. Amphibians
and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. Revised edition. Uni-
versity of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 408 pp.). Stud-
ies have shown that T. sirtalis rely on an array of cues to identify
potential mates, including pheromonal, visual, and temperature
cues (Shine and Mason 2001. Behav. Ecol. Soc. 49:465–473). On
2 April 2020, at ca. 1300 h, two male T. sirtalis were observed at-
tempting to copulate with an adult female Sistrurus catenatus
(Eastern Massasauga) along Fleming Creek, Washtenaw County,
Michigan, USA (42.30475°N, 83.66053°W; WGS 84). The two male
T. sirtalis were aligned with the body of the S. catenatus with their
tails intertwined (Fig. 1A). One of the T. sirtalis exhibited rhyth-
mic undulations of its body along the flanks of the rattlesnake
consistent with courtship behavior for the species (List 1950.
Herpetologica 6:71–74). As the S. catenatus attempted to evade
the two snakes, both individuals continued to mob it, remaining
in close contact for several minutes (Fig. 1B). After ca. 10 min,
the S. catenatus descended into a nearby crayfish burrow, caus-
ing the two T. sirtalis to disengage their pursuit. Both T. sirtalis
actively searched within 1–2 m of the crayfish burrow for several
minutes before dispersing out of sight. Given that both natricine
and crotaline snakes rely heavily on pheromones and seasonal
cues to begin courtship activities, it is possible that species-
specific cues are not strong enough to override general mate-
seeking behavior (Ford 1986. In Duvall et al. [eds.], Chemical
Signals in Vertebrates 4, pp. 261–278. Plenum Press, New York,
New York). Alternatively, the T. sirtalis could simply be reacting
to visual cues or remnant pheromones from a female T. sirtalis
in the vicinity that aroused the snakes. Although interspecific
copulation attempts are known to occur within the suborder
Serpentes, this record serves as the first documented copulation
attempt between T. sirtalis and S. catenatus.
NICHOLAS J. SCOBEL (e-mail: nicholas.j.scobel@gmail.com); HAY-
LEY L. CROWELL, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michi-
gan, 1105 N. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA (e-mail:
hlcrowel@umich.edu).
TRETANORHINUS NIGROLUTEUS (Orange-bellied Swamp-
snake). DIET and INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION. Tretanorhi-
nus nigroluteus is a colubrid that is distributed in Mexico, Guate-
mala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama. In
Mexico, T. nigroluteus occurs in the states of Veracruz, Tabasco,
Oaxaca, Chiapas, Campeche and Quintana Roo (Barquero and
Arguedas 2019. Amphib. Rept. Conserv. 13:227–238). It is an
aquatic species with nocturnal and crepuscular habits (Villa
Fig. 1. Thamnophis elegans vagrans constricting Microtus longicau-
dus leucophaeus in the Pinaleño Mountains, Arizona, USA.
PHOTO BY KIRA HEFTY
Fig. 1. Two adult male Thamnophis sirtalis attempting to mate with a
female Sistrurus catenatus (A) and displaying courtship behavior via
body undulations and pursuit (B).
Herpetological Review 52(4), 2021
885NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 885
1970. Rev. Biol. Trop. 17:97–104). Very little is known about the
ecology and natural history of this species. Relatively shy in be-
havior, it flees quickly when threatened, diving into water and
hiding among rocks, roots or other objects (Wilson and Hahn
1973. Bull. Florida State Mus. 17:93–150). Records on its free-
living diet are very scarce and include only fish and amphibians
(Neill 1965. Herpetologica 21:62–67; Villa 1970, op. cit.). Villa
(1970, op. cit.) recorded the fish Poecilia sphenops (Poeciliidae)
as part of its diet. Here, we report a new species within the genus
Poecilia as part of the diet of free-living T. nigroluteus.
At 2226 h on 12 April 2020 on the banks of a creek tributary
of San Felipe Bacalar lagoon, below the “Puente Moctezuma” in
the Bacalar-Reforma road, Municipality of Bacalar, Quintana
Roo, Mexico (18.76447°N, 88.4915°W; WGS 84; 19 m elev.), PMBG
found two specimens of T. nigroluteus competing in trying to
consume a Poecilia mexicana (Shortfin Molly). This fish species
has a wide distribution in southeastern Mexico where it inhabits
rivers and coastal lagoons (Chávez-López et al. 2015. Am. J.
Life Sci. 3:76–84). At first, one of the snakes caught the fish by
the middle part of the body (Fig. 1) while the other snake tried
to remove it, unsuccessfully. After a while, the snake managed
to engulf the anterior part of the fish (Fig. 2), supporting the
observation of Villa (1970, op. cit.), that T. nigroluteus swallows
its prey starting from the head. To our knowledge, this is the first
record of P. mexicana being consumed by T. nigroluteus.
We thank Juan Jacobo Schmitter Soto and Roberto Carlos
Barrientos Medina for the taxonomic identification of P.
mexicana.
JOSÉ 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); PABLO M. BEUTELSPACHER-GARCÍA, Martinica 342, Fracc. Caribe,
C.P. 77086, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México (e-mail: bothropspacher@ho-
tmail.com); LUIS FRANCISCO NIETO-TOSCANO, El Colegio de la Frontera
Sur, Av. Centenario Km 5.5, C.P. 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México
(e-mail: luisnietotoscano913@gmail.com).
ERRATA
In the last issue of Herpetological Review (2021. 52(3):667), we
reported an observation of a Hypsiglena slevini (Baja California
Nightsnake) preying on a gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus. However,
it was brought to our attention that the snake looked very much
like a Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha (Cape Nightsnake), rather than
H. slevini. Following careful review of the photographs taken by
Mónica Robinson Bours and Yssel Gadar, we now believe the
specimen belongs to H. ochrorhyncha. The two species are quite
similar and overlap considerably in color pattern and scalation;
since H. slevini is the most common species in Southern Baja
California, we erroneously assigned it to the last species. We
found two clear features of the color pattern that support
our new conclusion: 1) the nuchal collar is separated in three
sections (tripartite) and 2) the middle blotch is continuous along
the first dorsal blotch, as in H. ochrorhyncha. Scaling pattern is
not visible in the photographs. The note is correct in every other
sense.
ADRIANA GONZÁLEZ-HERNÁNDEZ and VÍCTOR HUGO REYNOSO,
National Collection of Amphibians and Reptiles, Institute of Biology, Depart-
ment of Zoology, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Ciudad Uni-
versitaria, CDMX CP 04510, Mexico (e-mail: vreynoso@ib.unam.mx).
Fig. 1. Tretanorhinus nigroluteus with its prey Poecilia mexicana in
Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
PHOTO BY PABLO M. BEUTELSPACHERGARCÍA
Fig. 2. Two individuals of Tretanorhinus nigroluteus competing with
each other while trying to consume a Poecilia mexicana.
PHOTO BY PABLO M. BEUTELSPACHERGARCÍA