Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 133-134 (2021) (published online on 22 January 2021)

First record of Tropidurus hispidus (Squamata: Tropiduridae) predation by Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus (Colubridae)

Monique Celião de Oliveira1,*, Rivanilda Gonçalves Duarte2, Érica Gomes da Silva2, Diêgo Alves Teles3, João Antonio de Araujo Filho3, and Waltécio de Oliveira Almeida4

The genus Erythrolamprus currently comprises 51 in its stomach. The lizard was identified at the species species (Murphy et al., 2019; Uetz et al., 2020), 35 level according to the literature of Rodrigues (1987). of which occur in Brazil (Costa and Bérnils, 2015). According to this author Tropidurus hispidus are easily Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus (Wied-Neuwied, 1825) identified through the covered and interwoven dorsal is widely distributed in South America, including scales and by the absence of a differentiated middle regions of Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and dorsal crest. Brazil, (occurring in moist forest, Amazonian forest, Tropidurus hispidus is distributed throughout the the Cerrado and semi-arid regions, such as the Caatinga Caatinga (a semi-arid environment), being quite [Uetz et al., 2020]). abundant, occupying a great variety of microhabitats, Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus (Fig. 1) has nocturnal such as rocks, trunks, foliage and bromeliads (Vanzolini and diurnal habits, being a terrestrial and oviparous et al., 1980). species that feeds mainly on fish, birds, small rodents Lizards of the genus Tropidurus are known as sit and and amphibians (Silva-Junior et al., 2003), among wait foragers with opportunistic eating habits (Passos them Bufonidae (Bufo granulosus, B. paracnemis) and et al., 2016). Although their diet is primarily composed Leptodactylidae (Leptodactylus fuscus, L. ocellatus and of arthropods, several species of tropidurids also feed Physalaemus cuvieri) (Norman and Naylor, 1994). In December 2015, a female E. poecilogyrus (snout- vent length 104 mm, tail length 96 mm, weight 37 g) was found dead on a road in the mountain range of the municipality of Exu, (7,5119ºW, 39,7241ºS; WGS) in Pernambuco, Brazil. The snake’s digestive tract was removed and examined under a stereomicroscope and the food items found were preserved in 70% alcohol. A lizard belonging to the species Tropidurus hispidus Spix 1825 was found

1 Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Aplicadas e Educação, Campus IV, Rio Tinto, Paraíba 58297- 000, Brazil. 2 Universidade Regional do Cariri, Rua Coronel Antônio Luiz, 1161, Campus do Pimenta, Crato, Ceará 63105-000, Brazil. 3 Laboratório de Herpetologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Cidade Universitária, Campus I, João Pessoa, Paraíba 58059- 900, Brazil. 4 Departamento de Química Biológica, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Rua Coronel Antônio Luiz, 1161, Campus do Pimenta, Crato, Ceará 63105-000, Brazil. Figure 1. Adult specimen of Erythrolamprus poecilogyrus * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (A) Photo by H. F. Oliveira; (B) Adult specimen of Tropidurus © 2020 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. hispidus found in E. poecilogyrus stomach. 134 Monique Celião de Oliveira et al. on plant items and small vertebrates (Faria and Araújo, Murphy, J.C., Braswell, A.L., Charles, S.P., Auguste, R.J., Rivas, 2004; Van Sluys et al., 2004; Kolodiuk et al., 2010). G.A., Borzée, A., et al. (2019): A new species of Erythrolamprus This work reports the first record of T. hispidus from the oceanic island of Tobago (Squamata, Dipsadidae). ZooKeys 817: 131–157. predation by E. poecilogyrus. Although the genus Norman, D.R., Naylor, L. (1994): Amphibians and reptiles of the Tropidurus is frequently predated by snakes, further paráguayan Chaco. University of Texas Press 1: 281. studies are needed to verify the richness and composition Passos, D.C., Monteiro, F.A.C., Nogueira, C.H.D.O. (2016): of the snake diet in the Caatinga environments. Dangerous neighborhood: saurophagy between syntopic Tropidurus lizards. Biota Neotropica 1(16): 1–5. Acknowledgments. We are thankful to the Conselho Nacional Rodrigues, M.T. (1987): Sistemática, ecologia e zoogeografia dos de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for the Tropidurus do grupo torquatus ao sul do Rio Amazonas (Sauria, schorlaship granted to D.A, Teles, J.A. and Araujo-Filho, W.O, Iguanidae). Arquivos de Zoologia 31: 105–230. Almeida and Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Silva, J.R., N.J., Souza, I.F., W.V., Silva, W.V., Silva, H.L.R. (2003): Cientifico e Tecnológico (FUNCAP) for the schorlaship granted Natural history. Liophis poecilogyrus. diet. Herpetological to R.G Duarte, and E.G, Silva. Review 34: 69–70. Uetz, P., Freed, P., Hošek, J. (2020): The Reptile Database. http:// References www.reptile-database.org [accessed April 20, 2020]. Van Sluys, M., Rocha, C.F.D., Vrcibradic, D., Galdino, C.A.B., Costa, H.C., Bérnils, R.S. (2015): Répteis brasileiros: Lista de Fontes, A.F. (2004): Diet, activity and microhabitat use of two espécies 2015. Herpetologia Brasileira 4(3): 75–93. syntopic Tropidurus species (Lacertilia: Tropiduridae) in Minas Faria, R.R., Araujo, A.F.B. (2004): Syntopy of two Tropidurus Gerais, Brazil. Brazil Journal of Herpetology 38: 606–611. lizard species (Squamata: Tropiduridae) in a rocky Cerrado Vanzolini, P.E., Ramos-Costa, A.M.M., Vitt, L.J. (1980): Répteis habitat in Central Brazil. Brazil Journal of Herpetology 64: das Caatingas. Academia Brasileira de Ciencias, Rio de Janeiro, 775–786. Brasil 1: 161. Kolodiuk, M.F., Ribeiro, L.B., Freire, E.M.X. (2010): Diet and foraging behavior of two species of Tropidurus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil. South American Journal of Herpetology 5: 35–44.

Accepted by Michael Jowers