CONIOPHANES IMPERIALIS (Regal Black-striped Snake). DIET, FORAGING, and PREDATION BEHAVIOR.

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Herpetological Review 55(2), 2024
276 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES
the Municipality of Huatusco, Veracruz, Mexico. The stomach
contents were exposed on the right side of the dead snake. The
prey species was identified as Geophis semidoliatus (Fig. 1), a
species of small fossorial snake. This case represents the first
report of predator–prey interaction between these two species,
being the seventh species of prey snake for C. fissidens (Aguilar-
López and Aguilar-Rodríguez 2023, op. cit.), as well as the third
species of predatory snake for G. semidoliatus (West et al. 2019.
Bull. Chicago Herpetol. Soc. 54:4–8; Castro-Tafolla and Vásquez-
Cruz. 2024. Rev. Latinoam. Herpetol. 7:99–101).
JESÚS HERNÁNDEZ-GONZÁLEZ, Huatusco, Veracruz, México (e-
mail: manu_jh996247@gmail.com); VÍCTOR VÁSQUEZ-CRUZ, Facultad
de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Veracruzana, camino
viejo Peñuela-Amatlán de los Reyes. S/N. C.P. 94950, Amatlán de los Reyes,
Veracruz, México (e-mail: victorbiolvc@gmail.com).
CONIOPHANES IMPERIALIS (Regal Black-striped Snake).
DIET, FORAGING, and PREDATION BEHAVIOR. Coniophanes
imperialis is medium-sized dipsadine, distributed from south-
ern Texas, USA, through eastern Mexico, including the Yucatán
Peninsula to northern Honduras (Heimes 2016. Herpetofauna
Mexicana Vol I. Snakes of Mexico. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt
am Main, Germany. 572 pp.). The diet of C. imperialis consists
mostly of anurans (Lee 1996. The Amphibians and Reptiles of
the Yucatán Peninsula. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell
University Press, Ithaca, New York. 500 pp.; Campbell 1998. Am-
phibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and
Belize. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. 380
pp.; Lemos-Espinal and Dixon 2013. Amphibians and Reptiles
of San Luis Potosí. Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain,
Utah. 312 pp.; Platt et al. 2019. Mesoamer. Herpetol. 3:162–170;
Valencia-Herverth et al. 2021. Herpetol. Rev. 52:151; Cedeño-
Vázquez et al. 2021. Herpetol. Rev. 52:866) and lizards (Frazier et
al. 2007. Herpetol. Rev. 38:86), but earthworms, arthropods, sala-
manders, bird eggs, rodents, and small snakes are also reported
(Campbell 1998, op. cit.; Köhler 2003. Reptiles of Central Amer-
ica. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, Germany. 367 pp.; Köhler et
al. 2017. Mesoam. Herpetol. 4:528–542; Carbajal-Márquez et al.
2019. Cuad. Herpetol. 33:71–74; Grundler 2020. Biodivers. Data J.
8:e49943). In addition, a case of attempted cannibalism was re-
cently reported (Oakley and Núñez-Robles 2023. IRCF Rept. Am-
phib. 30:e18991). In this note, we document three new anuran
species (Smilisca baudinii, Incilius valliceps, and Rhinophrynus
dorsalis) in the diet of C. imperialis, with an observation of forag-
ing and predation behaviour in an urban context.
At 1038 h on 23 October 1998, at the edge of the trail to the
Balam Kú Archeological Site, Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico
(18.55480°N, 89.94397°W; WGS 84; 158 m elev.), one of us (JRCV)
observed an adult C. imperialis consuming an adult Smilisca
baudinii on the leaf litter (Fig. 1).
At 0950 h on 7 August 2023 at the facilities of the Jardín
Zoológico Payo Obispo in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
(18.52167°N, 88.30361°W; WGS 84; 8 m elev.), one of us (EJHH)
observed an adult C. imperialis foraging between a fauna
enclosure, a rock mound, and a log. The snake moved some rocks
and leaves with its head and managed to discover and prey upon
a juvenile Incilius valliceps, swallowing it in ca. 40 sec. When
the snake finished ingesting the toad, it continued searching for
more prey in the area, encountering another juvenile I. valliceps,
without predation success (videos by EJHH available at https://
doi.org/10.26153/tsw/54478). During the display of foraging
and predation events, C. imperialis was surrounded by zoo staff,
an issue that may indicate its tolerance to human presence in
anthropic situations.
At 1350 h on 4 November 2023, at Rancho La Chinita, in the
Bacalar-Reforma road, municipality of Bacalar, Quintana Roo,
Mexico (18.75841°N, 88.52592°W; WGS 84; 21 m elev.), while
PMBG was cutting weeds, he accidentally wounded an adult
female C. imperialis (34.1 cm SVL, 48.7 cm total length) with a
machete, causing a wound on the right side in the middle of the
body. The snake had a noticeable food bolus and after capture
for physical assessment of the damage and wound care, it
regurgitated a partially digested juvenile Rhinophrynus dorsalis
(4.7 cm SVL; Fig. 2).
To our knowledge, these observations represent three
previously unknown prey species in the diet of C. imperialis,
including the first chemically defended prey. Resistance to
bufonid toad toxins has been documented in other toad-
feeding dipsadines but has not been assessed in Coniophanes
(Mohammadi et al. 2016. Proc. Roy. Soc. B. 283:20162111).
JOSÉ ROGELIO CEDEÑO-VÁZQUEZ, Departamento de Sistemática
y Ecología Acuática, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Av. Centenario Km 5.5,
C.P. 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México (e-mail: rcedenov@ecosur.
mx, rogeliocedeno@gmail.com); EDMUNDO JACOB HUERTA HERNÁN-
Fig. 1. Coniophanes imperialis preying upon an adult Smilisca baudi-
nii in the Balamkú Archaeological Site, Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico.
Fig. 2. Rhinophrynus dorsalis regurgitated by an adult female Conio-
phanes imperialis after capturing it for physical assessment of the
damage and wound care.

Herpetological Review 55(2), 2024
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 277
DEZ, Departamento de Conservación de la Biodiversidad, El Colegio de la
Frontera Sur, Av. Centenario Km 5.5, C.P. 77014, Chetumal, Quintana Roo,
México (e-mail: edmundo.huerta@posgrado.ecosur.mx); PABLO M. BEU-
TELSPACHER-GARCÍA, Martinica 342, Fracc. Caribe, C.P. 77086, Chetumal,
Quintana Roo, México (e-mail: beutelspacherpacher@gmail.com).
CROTALUS MOLOSSUS (Black-tailed Rattlesnake) and CROTA-
LUS LEPIDUS (Rock Rattlesnake). ECTOPARASITES. Reptiles
may act as host of zoonotic pathogens associated with Diptera.
Reports of mosquito-borne pathogens in reptile populations
around the world raise concern about their potential role as
reservoirs or overwintering hosts in both endemic and exotic re-
gions (Mendoza-Roldan et al. 2021. Int J Parasitol: Parasites Wildl.
15:132–142). Host-specific identification of reptile blood meals
taken by Culex peccator were obtained from four snakes: Nerodia
erythrogaster (Plain-bellied Watersnake), Thamnophis sauritus
(Eastern Ribbonsnake), Elaphe obsoleta (Eastern Ratsnake), and
Regina rigida (Glossy Crayfish Snake) in central Alabama, USA
(Cupp et al. 2004. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 71:272–276). Here we
document two reports of mosquito ectoparasites on two differ-
ent rattlesnakes in the state of Chihuahua, México.
At 0737 h on 8 July 2021, in an exploration to the Teseachi
Experimental Ranch owned by the Universidad Autónoma
de Chihuahua, one of us (SGSG) encountered a Crotalus
molossus (ca. 375 mm total length) on dry leaves on the ground
alongside a log, in an oak forest and grassland, southwest
of the Teseachi Ranch, Namiquipa, Chihuahua, México
(28.77949°N, 107.50673°W; WGS 84; 2153 m elev.). One photo
(Fig. 1) is deposited in Naturalista (https://www.naturalista.mx/
observations/129905016, 1 June 2024); after reviewing the photo,
we noticed at least 10 blood sucking mosquitoes on the body of
the rattlesnake.
The second report was on 1 October 2023, at the south
entrance of the Marro Canyon, Chihuahua City, Chihuahua,
México (28.72017°N, 106.18068°W; WGS 84; 1440 m elev.). At ca
0750 h, following a light rain, one of us (RICM) encountered a
Crotalus lepidus (ca. 250 mm total length) resting on a rock. Four
photos are deposited at the Colección Científica de Vertebrados
UACJ (CCV-UACJ) and one is deposited in Naturalista (https://
www.naturalista.mx/observations/192033577, 1 June 2024).
A mosquito full of blood is visible on the anterior third of the
rattlesnake’s body (Fig. 2).
To our knowledge, no report of a wild rattlesnake hosting
mosquitoes has been reported. These observations are
important because we don’t know if the loss of blood can affect
the rattlesnake’s health or if they might be vectors of pathogens.
ANA GATICA-COLIMA (e-mail: agatica@uacj.mx) and RAMÓN ISAAC
MIRAMONTES-CINCO, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Depar-
tamento de Ciencias Químico-Biológicas. Laboratorio de Ecología y Bio-
diversidad Animal (e-mail: al174965@alumnos.uacj.mx); SARA GABRI-
ELA SÁENZ-GONZÁLEZ, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua (e-mail:
sally67200@gmail.com).
CROTALUS OREGANUS CONCOLOR (Midget-faded Rattle-
snake). DIET. Crotalus oreganus concolor is a dietary generalist
and ambush predator, exhibiting an ontogenetic shift from con-
suming lizards when young to a mammalian diet as adults (Feld-
ner et al. 2016. In Schuett et al. [eds.], Rattlesnakes of Arizona, pp.
179–237. Eco Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico). The examination
of 192 museum specimens from across the species range yield-
ed no observations of avian prey (Mackessy et al. 2003. Copeia
4:769–782). Notably and subsequent to the previous study, the
remains of three unidentified birds were recovered from gastro-
intestinal contents of 61 C. o. concolor collected in Sweetwater
County, Wyoming, USA (Parker and Anderson. 2007. J. Herpetol
41:41–51). Records of avian prey in the diet of C. o. concolor re-
main exceptionally uncommon.
On 26 July 2023, at 0902 h, an adult C. o. concolor (600 mm total
length) was observed (Fig. 1) consuming a juvenile Chondestes
grammacus (Lark Sparrow) in a large sagebrush flat surrounded
by occasional junipers (Intermountain Basins Big Sagebrush
Shrubland) ca. 8.05 km northeast of Lapointe, Uintah County,
Utah, USA (40.44516°N, 109.74170°W; WGS 84). Brian Maxfield of
the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources confirmed identification
of the bird. The snake was initially observed on a dirt road with
the recently deceased sparrow prior to withdrawing with the bird
into nearby cover upon discovery. The snake retained hold on
the prey item and was then left undisturbed to finish the meal.
Fig. 1. Crotalus molossus with at least 10 blood sucking mosquitoes
on its body from Chihuahua, México.
PHOTO BY SARA G. SÁENZGONZÁLEZ
Fig. 2. Crotalus lepidus with mosquitoes on the anterior part of the
body from Chihuahua, México.
PHOTO BY RAMÓN I. MIRAMONTESCINCO