Herpetology Notes, volume 10: 341-343 (2017) (published online on 30 June 2017)

Predation attempt of torquatus (, ) on Phalotris matogrossensis (Serpentes, Dipsadidae)

Arthur de Sena Santos1,*, Afonso Santiago de Oliveira Meneses1, Gabriel de Freitas Horta1, Pedro Guilherme Alves Rodrigues2 and Reuber Albuquerque Brandão3

Phalotris matogrossensis Lema, D’Agostini & , grasping the snake in about the middle of its Cappelari, 2005 is a medium-sized opisthoglyphous body. After catching the snake the climbed on snake distributed from Southwestern to the East the tree again where it killed the snake by vigorously of Paraguay. This nocturnal snake inhabits open areas shaking it (Figure 1 and 2). Then the lizard dropped the of the Brazilian Savannah and the Chaco (Leynaud & Bucher 1999). Its diet is composed of , frogs, and amphisbaenians (Bernarde and Macedo 2006, De Souza 2014). Tropidurus torquatus Wied-Neuwiedi 1820 is a very common and widely distributed lizard that can be often found in open areas, including the Brazilian Cerrado, and sandy open habitats along the Atlantic coast (Rodrigues 1987, Rocha 2000). It is a diurnal with “sit-and-wait” foraging behaviour (Bergallo & Rocha 1994, Vitt et al 1996). Tropidurus torquatus has a very wide diet composition characteristic for opportunistic predators (Rodrigues 1987, Colli et al 1992). On the 10th of October 2014 at 09:40 am at Fazenda Ipiranga, Pousada Piuval locality (16.3789ºS, 56.6045ºW, 142m above sea level), in the municipality of Poconé, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, we spotted a big male T. torquatus on a tree (50cm above the ground), observing an individual of P. matogrossensis active at the base of the tree, unaware of the lizard’s presence. Suddenly, the lizard ran to the ground and captured the

¹ Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília. CEP 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil. ² Laboratório de Genética, Universidade de Brasília. CEP 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil. 3 Universidade de Brasília, Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Caixa Postal 04357. CEP 70919-970. Brasília, DF, Brazil. Figure 1. A male of Tropidurus torquatus holding the snake in [email protected] the middle of the body. Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo: * Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] Pedro Guilherme. 342 Arthur de Sena Santos et al.

Figure 2. A male of Tropidurus torquatus preying upon a Phalotris matogrossensis. Poconé, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Photo: Pedro Guilherme.

snake without devouring it, perhaps because the snake Acknowledgments. We thanks Christine Strüssmann for the pre- was too large. peer review of this manuscript and “Bio em Foco” for provide the Although there are many records of Tropidurus field expedition. spp. being preyed by (e.g. Alencar et al 2012, Gaiarsa et al 2013, Meneses et al 2013, Maia-Carneiro References et al 2016), snakes may have unusual predators in South Alencar, L.R.V., Galdino, C.A.B., Nascimento, L.B. (2012): Life America, such as spiders (Malta-Borges et al 2016). history aspects of Oxyrhopus trigeminus (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) Tropidurus lizards are common predators of arthropods from two sites in Southeastern Brazil. Journal of (including , beetles, insect larvae, arachnids and 46: 9-13 ), showing a dominance of ants in their diet Bergallo, H.G. & C.F.D. Rocha. (1994): Spatial and trophic niche differentiation in two sympatric lizards (Tropidurus torquatus (Meira et al 2007, Pontes et al 2008, Kolodiuk et al and Cnemidophorus ocellifer) with different foraging tactics. 2010, Ribeiro and Freire 2011). They also often include Australian Journal of Ecology 19: 72–75 small vertebrates in their diet, including frogs, birds and Bernarde, P.S., Macedo, L.C. (2006) Phalotris matogrossensis. lizards (Ribeiro and Freire 2009, Guedes et al 2017). Diet. Herpetological Review 37: 234 However, we are not aware of reports of Tropidurus Colli, G.R., Araujo, A.F.B., Silveira, R., Roma, F. (1992): Niche lizards preying upon snakes, and the documented partitioning and morphology of two syntopic Tropidurus (Sauria: predation attempt by T. torquatus on the dipsadid snake Tropiduridae), in Mato Grosso, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 26: 66-69. P. matogrossensis has not been previously recorded. We De Souza, D. C., D.H. Morais and R. Silva (2014): Phalotris assume that other large Tropidurus species may also matogrossensis (Mato Grosso burrowing snake) diet. prey on small snakes, but direct field observations are Herpetological Review 45: 712. still to be reported. Gaiarsa, M. P., Alencar, L.R.V., Martins, M. (2013): Natural history Predation attempt of Tropidurus torquatus on Phalotris matogrossensis 343

of Pseudoboini snakes. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 53: 261- Pontes, M.C., Garri, M.G., Chiamenti, A. (2008): Atividade de 283 predação de Tropidurus hispidus (Sauria, Tropiduridae) em Guedes, T., Miranda, F., Menezes, L., Pichorim, M., Ribeiro, L. Nísia Floresta, RN, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Zoociências 10: (2017): Avian predation attempts by Tropidurus hispidus (Spix, 201-207. 1825) (Reptilia, Squamata, Tropiduridae). Herpetology Notes Ribeiro, L.B., Freire, E.M.X. (2011): Trophic ecology and foraging 10: 45-47. behaviour of Tropidurus hispidus and Tropidurus semitaeniatus Kolodiuk, M.F., Ribeiro, L.B., Freire, E.M.X. (2010): Diet and (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in a Caatinga area of Northeastern foraging behaviour of two species of Tropidurus (Squamata, Brazil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia 101: 225-232. Tropiduridae) in the Caatinga of Northeastern Brazil. South Rocha, C.F.D., Siqueira, C.C. (2008): Feeding ecology of the American Journal of Herpetology 5: 35-44. lizard Tropidurus oreadicus. Brazilian Journal of Biology 68: Leynaud, G. C., Bucher, E. H. (1999): La fauna de serpientes del 109-113. Chaco Sudamericano: Diversidad, Distribución Geográfica Rodrigues, M.T. (1987): Sistemática, ecologia e zoogeografia dos y Estado de Conservación. Córdoba. Academia Nacional de Tropidurus do grupo torquatus ao sul do Rio Amazonas (Sauria: Ciencias 98: 46. Iguanidae). Arquivos de Zoologia, 31: 105-230 Maia-Carneiro, T., Goyannes-Araújo, P., Rocha, C.F.D. (2016): Siqueira, C.C., Kiefer, M.C., Van sluys, M., Rocha, C.F.D. (2013): Predation of Tropidurus hispidus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) by Variation in the diet of the lizard Tropidurus torquatus along its Siphlophis leucocephalus (Squamata, Dipsadidae). Neotropical coastal range in Brazil. Biota Neotropica 13: 93-101. Biology and Conservation 11: 47-50 Vitt, L.J., P.A. Zaniand J.P. Caldwell. (1996): Behavioural ecology Malta Borges, L., Rosa, C.M., Dri, G.F., Bertani, R. (2016): of Tropidurus hispidus on isolated rock outcrops in Amazonia. Predation of the snake Erythrolamprus almadensis (Wagler, Journal of Tropical Ecology 12: 81–101. 1824) by the tarantula Grammostola quirogai Montes De Oca, D’Elía & Pérez-Miles, 2016. Herpetology Notes 9: 321-322. Meira, K.T.R., Faria, R.G., Silva, M.D.M., Miranda, V.T., Zahn- Silva, W. (2007): História natural de Tropidurus oreadicus em uma área de cerrado rupestre do Brasil Central. Biota Neotropica 7: 155-164 Menezes, N.M.L., Reis, P.M.A.G., Souza, K., Urias, I.C., Walker, F.M., Ribeiro, L.B. (2013): Death of a snake Philodryas nattereri (Squamata: Dipsadidae) after predation on a large-sized lizard Tropidurus hispidus (Squamata: Tropiduridae). Herpetology Notes 6: 55-57.

Accepted by Jiri Smid