HTTPS://JOURNALS.KU.EDU/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF & AMPHIBIANSREPTILES • VOL15, & N AMPHIBIANSO 4 • DEC 2008 •189 28(1):32–33 • APR 2021

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATUREUnusual ARTICLES Feeding Behavior by a . Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the RoadSpectacled to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation Cobra, of the Midwest’s GiantNaja Serpent ...... naja Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical (LinnaeusExcursion ...... 1785) in IndiaRobert W. Henderson 198 RESEARCH ARTICLES .RahulThe Texas V. Horned Deshmukh Lizard in Central1, Sagar and A. Western Deshmukh Texas ...... 2, Swapnil Emily A. Henry, Badhekar Jason Brewer,3, and Krista Shubham Mougey, and D. Gad Katgube Perry 2044 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida 1 H. N. 26, ...... Teacher Colony, Kalmeshwar,Brian J. Camposano,Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, (rahul30.@gmail.com Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael [corresponding Granatosky 212 author]) 2Behind Potdar Nursing Home, Kalmeshwar, Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, India ([email protected]) CONSERVATION3Tiwaskarwadi, ALERTRaipur, Hingana, Nagpur, Maharashtra- 441110, India ([email protected]) 4 . World’sSaoner Ring Road, in Crisis Kalmeshwar, ...... Brahmani, Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, India ([email protected])...... 220 . More Than Mammals ...... 223 . The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ...... 225

nakes typicallyHUSBANDRY are carnivorous with various con- plants by Florida Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon conanti). . Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ...... Shannon Plummer 226 Ssuming a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate prey, often Sharma et al. (2016) reported instances of Oriental Ratsnakes in accordance withPROFILE size of predator and prey (Greene 1997). ( mucosa) feeding on an onion and consuming a piece of However, instances. Kraig of Adler: herbivory, A Lifetime Promoting consumption Herpetology ...... of inani- cloth. Deshmukh et al. (2017) Michael documentedL. Treglia 234 a plastic bag con- mate objects, andCOMMENTARY scavenging have been reported. D’Abreu sumed by a Common Indian Krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and (1911) speculated. thatThe Turtles the Havepresence Been Watching of stones Me ...... in the stom- Deshmukh et al. (2018) described Eric Gangloff consumption 238 of shed skin ach of a Checkered Keelback (Fowlea piscator) might serve by a Common Indian Trinket Snake (Coelognathus helena hel- a purpose similarBOOK to that REVIEW of stones consumed by crocodiles ena). Herein we report unusual feeding behavior by an Indian . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, and birds. Dalziel (1937)R. Berridge, recorded P. Ramani, a andsnake B.E. Youngfeeding ...... on fruits Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja Robert). Indian Powell 243Spectacled Cobras are under a Vitex micrantha, a tropical African tree. Mookerjee distributed throughout mainland India (excluding the north- (1946) described anCONSERVATION Indian Rock RESEARCH Python REPORTS:( Summaries) of Publishedeast) Conservation as well as Research in , Reports ...... , , 245 , and that had ingested fourNATURAL Mango HISTORY (Mangifera RESEARCH sp.) REPORTS fruits infested: Summaries of PublishedBhutan Reports (Smith on Natural 1943; History Whitaker ...... and Captain 247 2004). These  NEWBRIEFS ...... 248 with insect larvae. EDITORIAL Irvine (1953) INFORMATION reported ...... feeding on snakes are active by day and night...... and feed 251 largely on rodents, the yellow fruits ofFOCUS Memordica ON CONSERVATION foetida, a :perennial A Project You African Can Support ...... frogs, birds, and snakes (Whitaker and 252Captain 2004). vine. Engel (1997) described consumption of fruits (Diospyros At 0800 h on 29 April 2020 in an agricultural field near consolatae) by a Black-necked Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricol- the Holiday Restaurant in the vicinity of Chicholi, Madhya lis) and suggested that this might facilitate seed dispersal. Pradesh, India (21.498774°N, 78.705293°E), we observed Lilywhite et al. (2008) mentioned Frontthe consumption Cover. Shannon Plummer. of marine an adultBack Cover.female Michael Spectacled Kern Cobra (TL 1,150 mm) that had Totat et velleseque audant mo Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as accullabo.

Fig. 1. An adult female Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja) ingesting fruits of an Eggplant (Solanum melongena, known in India as brinjal) in an agricultural field near the Holiday Restaurant in the vicinity of Chicholi, Madhya Pradesh, India. Note the presence of a previously swallowed fruit indicated by the red arrow. Photographs by Rahul V. Deshmukh.

Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a 32 Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 2332-4961 Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license. DESHMUKH ETAL. REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 28(1):32–33 • APR 2021 ingested the fruit of an Eggplant (Solanum melongena, known Dalziel, J.M. 1937. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Crown Agent for the in India as brinjal) with an approximate diameter of 50 mm Colonies, London, United Kingdom. Deshmukh, R.V., S.A. Deshmukh, S.A. Badhekar, and S. Katgube. 2017. A plastic and was in the process of eating another of about the same bag consumed by a Common Indian Krait (Bungarus Caeruleus Schneider size (Fig. 1). The snake swallowed both eggplants without 1801). Reptiles & Amphibians 24: 172–174. difficulty. She regurgitated one eggplant and moved into Deshmukh, R.V., S.A. Deshmukh, S.A. Badhekar, P. Raut, and S. Katgube. 2018. Consumption of shed skin and scavenging behavior by Common vegetation alongside the agricultural field when disturbed by Indian Trinket Snakes, Coelognathus helena helena (Daudin 1803). Reptiles & observers; however, she later returned to ingest the regurgi- Amphibians 25: 192–193. tated fruit. Earlier reports (Mookerjee 1946; Sharma et al. Engel, T.R. 1997. Seed dispersal and plant regeneration by snakes? Ecotropica 3: 33–41. 2016) documented consumption of plant material that either Greene, H.W. 1997. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. USA. was rotten or infested with insect larvae. In the present case, Irvine, F.R. 1953. Herbivorous snakes. British Journal of Herpetology 1: 173. the eggplant fruit was already rotten and its foul odor might Lillywhite, B.H., C.M. Sheehy, III, and F. Zaidan, III. 2008. Pitviper scavenging at have attracted the snake. the intertidal zone: An evolutionary scenario for invasion of the sea. BioScience 58: 947–955. https://doi.org/10.1641/B581008. Mookerjee, S. 1946. Mango-fruit–on the menu of the common python (Python Acknowledgements molurus). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 46: 733. We are very grateful to Vasant Kohale, Purushottam Kohale, Sharma, V., A. Sayyad, and R. Bhandari. 2016. Herbivory and inanimate objects and Suraj Kohale. in the diet of the Oriental Ratsnake, Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus 1758) Reptiles & Amphibians 23: 102–103. Smith, M.A. 1943. Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Literature Cited Amphibia, Vol. III – Serpentes. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London, UK. D’Abreu, E.A. 1911. Do snakes swallow stones? The Journal of the Bombay Natural Whitaker, R. and A. Captain. 2004. Snakes of India: The Field Guide. Draco Books, History Society 21: 281. Chennai, India.

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