Predation Attempt on the Degenhardt's Scorpion-Eating Snake

Home , Coral snake, Erythrolamprus bizona

Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 331-333 (2019) (published online on 23 March 2019)

Predation attempt on the Degenhardt’s Scorpion-eating Snake Stenorrhina degenhardtii (Berthold, 1846) (Serpentes: Colubridae) by the False Coral Snake Erythrolamprus bizonus (Jan, 1863) (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) in Caldas, Colombia

Juan C. Díaz-Ricaurte1,2,*

Snakes have been frequently reported as prey of consisting of humid low montane forest (Holdridge, others snakes (Ditmars, 1912; Amaral, 1933; Beebe, 1982; Hartshorn, 2002). 1946; Abuys, 1981; Greene, 1983; Vanzolini et al., 1984). Information on predation events between Results and Discussion snake species are important to elucidate the trophic On 27 June 2002, at 16:00h, during a field trip in the networks of ecosystems. The Degenhardt’s Scorpion- Risaralda municipality, I observed an individual of E. eating Snake (Stenorrhina degenhardtii Berthold, bizonus preying upon an individual of S. degenhardtii 1846) is an important predator of invertebrates such at a distance of approximately 2 m. The event occurred as scorpions and tarantulas, as well as other spiders, near a small stream, where the individual of E. bizonus crickets, grasshoppers and insect larvae (Savage, 2002). was trying to ingest the individual of S. degenhartii It has diurnal and semifossorial habits (Savage, 2002), head-first (Fig. 1A, B). The individual of S. degenhartii often living near streams (Navarrete et al., 2005). On showed a small wound on one side of the body, the other hand, the Black-headed False Coral Snake suggesting that it had already been bitten by the E. (Erythrolamprus bizonus Jan, 1863) is a snake with bizonus (Fig. 1C). The event was observed for 20 min, ophiofagus habits, although sporadically, it feeds on and during this time the individual of S. degenhartii lizards (Savage, 2002). curled its body repeatedly, until the individual of E. Here, I describe a predation attempt of an E. bizonus bizonus was disturbed by the observer, and regurgitated on an individual of S. degenhardtii in a forest between the individual of S. degenhardtii. The latter was dead the municipalities of Anserma and Risaralda in the and showed several signs of bites on the dorsum and department of Caldas, Colombia (5.1551 S, -75.7219 W; head (Fig. 1C). The individual of E. bizonus then moved WGS84; elevation 1260 m). This region is covered by away from the area where it was first observed. After the fragments of secondary forest bordering small streams, event, the individual of S. degenhartii was collected and and is part of the Andean Orobioma of the western flank deposited in the collection of the Instituto de Ciencias of the central Andes (Rodriguez et al. 2004), mostly Naturales (ICN) of Universidad Nacional de Colombia (collection code JJS 226). Erythrolamprus bizonus has been recorded as a snake predator in several reports (Swanson, 1945; Savage, 2002), including Stenorrhina freminvillei Duméril, 1 Laboratório de Ecologia, Evolução e Conservação de Bibron and Duméril, 1854 (Mata-Silva et al., 2016), a Anfíbios e Répteis, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de sister species of S. degenhardtii. However, its predation Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, São upon the latter species was not reported before (Lancini Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brazil. and Kornacker, 1986). Both snakes are reported to be 2 Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Desarrollo diurnal (Savage, 2002) but E. bizonus is known to forage Amazónico, Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia, Caquetá, mainly on the leaf litter, while S. degenhardtii lives Colombia. within the leaf litter (i.e. has cryptozoic habits), where * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] it forages for invertebrates. Even though E. bizonus is 332 Juan C. Díaz-Ricaurte

Figure 1. Predation attempt of Stenorrhina degenhardtii by Erythrolamprus bizonus observed in a forest between the municipalities of Anserma and Risaralda in the department of Caldas, Colombia. A) The individual of E. bizonus trying to eat the individual of S. degenhardtii, ingesting it head-first. B) A close-up view of the predation attempt. C) Another view of the predation attempt, showing a wound on the dorsum of the individual of S. degenhardtii. D) The dead individual of S. degenhardtii after the attempted predation by E. bizonus. Photos: Juan Pablo Lopez-Ordoñez

considered to be one of the few species that ingest their References prey tail-first (Greene, 1997; Savage, 2002), herein I Abuys, A. (1981): De slangen van Suriname, deel II: De families observed a head-first ingestion, and the implications Anilidae en Boidae. Litteratura Serpentium 2: 112–133. could be attributed to self-defence mechanisms. To the Amaral, A. (1933): Mecanismo e Gênero de alimentação das current knowledge, this is the first report for this species. serpentes do Brasil. Boletim Biologia, São Paulo 1: 2–4. The death of the individual of S. degenhartii was Beebe, W. (1946): Field notes on the snakes of Kartabo, British probably caused by its envenomation by the individual Guiana and Karipito, Venezuela. Zoologica 31: 11–52. Ditmars, R.L. (1912): The feeding habits of serpents. Zoologica of E. bizonus (e.g., see Prado-Franceschi and Hyslop, 1: 197–238. 2002; Lemoine and Rodríguez-Acosta, 2003). Duméril, A.M.C., Bibron, G., Duméril, A.H.A., (1854): Erpétologie générale ou Histoire Naturelle complète des Reptiles, vol. 7 Acknowledgments. I thank Dr. John D. Lynch for identifying (partie 1), Paris. both snakes. Filipe Serrano, João Paulo V. Alencar and Marcio Greene, H.W. (1983): Dietary correlates of the origin and radiation Martins for useful suggestions on previous drafts of the of snakes. American Zoologist 23: 431–441. manuscript. Finally, I thank Juan Pablo Lopez-Ordoñez and Jhon Greene, H.W. (1997): Snakes: the evolution of mystery in nature. Ospina-Sarria for the photos included in this manuscript. University of California Press, Berkeley, U. S. A. Hartshorn, G.S. (2002): Biogeografía de los bosques neotropicales. In: Ecología y Conservación de Bosques Neotropicales, p. 59– Predation attempt on Stenorrhina degenhardtii by Erythrolamprus bizonus 333

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Accepted by Andre Bruinjé