Diet and feeding behavior of the parrot snake Leptophis nigromarginatus (Günther, 1866) (Serpentes, Colubridae)

Authors

  • Nelson Rufino de Albuquerque Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Instituto de Biociências, Laboratório de Zoologia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8711-0506
  • Roullien Henrique Martins Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Instituto de Biociências, Laboratório de Zoologia https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5717-0581

Abstract

Abstract Specimens (50) of Leptophis nigromarginatus from northern Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia were examined for the composition of stomach contents. Most prey items were tree frogs, especially those of the family Hylidae (96%). Most of the anurans identified belong to the Scinax ruber species group (14%) and Scinax sp. (8%). Both sexes preyed on small-sized items (1.8–4.4% of snake snout-vent length), but females capture larger prey than males. Leptophis nigromarginatus seems to manipulate captured prey before ingestion since most of the prey items (68%) were swallowed head-first. There is a positive correlation between female snout-vent length and prey size and between and head length and prey size.

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Published

2024-01-01

How to Cite

Albuquerque, N. R. de, & Martins, R. H. (2024). Diet and feeding behavior of the parrot snake Leptophis nigromarginatus (Günther, 1866) (Serpentes, Colubridae). Biota Neotropica, 24(3). Retrieved from //www.biotaneotropica.org.br/BN/article/view/2068

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 3 (2024): v24n3

Section

Short Communications