First Record of Male Combat for Micrurus Hemprichii (Serpentes: Elapidae)
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Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 181-183 (2021) (published online on 26 January 2021) First record of male combat for Micrurus hemprichii (Serpentes: Elapidae) Vinícius Mendes1,*, Diederik C. Lock2, Daniel Loebmann1, and Omar Machado Entiauspe-Neto1 Male combat is known to occur in several snake species Micrurus hemprichii (Jan, 1858) is a coral snake (Senter et al., 2014). The larger body in a male can allow species characterised by the presence of three to nine victories in these ritualistic combats, providing access black or grey triads (8–12 dorsals long), divided by to copulation. These behaviours are more frequently orange or brownish rings (3–4 dorsals long), black or present in dimorphic species in which males are larger grey head, usually with a yellow nuchal ring, single in body size than females (Shine, 1994), suggesting cloacal plate, 156–199 ventral scales, 22–34 subcaudals, that ritualistic combat can positively select larger males 1+1 temporals (Campbell and Lammar, 2004; Silva-Jr. et (Shine, 1978). Both the presence of ritualistic combat al., 2016). This species has a wide distribution in South between males and the repertoire of behaviours that America, occurring in lowland and montane tropical compose this combat may differ among taxa, making rainforest in nine countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, it possible to track their potential phylogenetic trends Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Surinam, and (Senter et al., 2014). Venezuela (Paine and Farfán, 2020). Two subspecies are The genus Micrurus comprises three groups currently recognised: Micrurus hemprichii hemprichii of neotropical coral snakes that are traditionally (Jan, 1858), ranging into eastern Colombia, southern distinguished by their colour distribution: black rings Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guyana, and arranged in triads (BRT), black rings in monads (BRM) Brazil; and Micrurus hemprichii ortoni Schmidt, 1953, and bicoloured species (Campbell and Lamar, 2004). which occurs in eastern and southern Colombia, eastern These groups also differ in the characteristics of their Ecuador, Peru, northern Bolivia, and Brazil (Silva-Jr., reproductive strategies; one of these characteristics 2016). Both subspecies are poorly diagnosed from each is male combat. Combat situations were observed in other based on the number of body triads and variation Micrurus altirostris (Almeida-Santos et al., 1998) on ventral scale counts (Silva-Jr., 2016). According and M. lemniscatus (Missassi et al., 2017), both BRT to Silva-Jr. (2016), M. h. hemprichii does not present species, and in the bicoloured M. mipartitus (Valencia marked sexual dimorphism, males have 157–195 ventral et al., 2020). In BRM species, there is a predominance scales, females 163–199, 22–34 subcaudal scales in of sexual dimorphism in which females usually have males, 22–33 in females; attains up to 785 mm snout- larger body size. This characteristic, combined with the vent length in males, 711 mm in females, and 79 mm absence of records, indicated that combat is not part of tail length in males, 77 mm in females. the BRM reproductive behaviour repertoire (Marques et Records of male-male combat in coral snakes are al., 2013). considered rare (Missassi et al., 2017). In this work, we report the first record of ritualistic combat between two males of Micrurus hemprichii hemprichii. On 17 July 2019, a local hunter (R. Ardjoen) observed and recorded two (presumably) male specimens at an airfield near 1 Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Instituto de Ciências Bakhuis Mountains (4.77645° N, 56.7704° W;100 m Biológicas, Laboratório de Vertebrados, Av. Itália Km 8, CEP: 96203-900, Vila Carreiros, Rio Grande, Rio Grande do a.sl.), western Suriname. Both snakes were encountered Sul, Brazil. in an open trail, at approximately 05:00 h, exhibiting 2 Herping Suriname, Henck Arronstraat 176, Paramaribo, a fighting behaviour that lasted for approximately 15 Surinam. minutes. * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] The two specimens were found coiled around each © 2021 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. other, with raised head and tail (Fig. 1). Most of the 182 Vinícius Mendes et al. Figure 1. Male combat in Micrurus hemprichii. A: Individuals coiled, tail and head raised; B: coils increased in number; C–D: sequence of individuals laterally pressing each other. time the individuals kept their venter facing the ground, present this behaviour. We believe that further fieldwork except during occasional lateral rotation movements, and tracking of Micrurus spp. in the wild will add more when one or another individual had a small part of its records of such rare behaviour. venter facing up. Throughout the combat behaviour, the snakes kept both their heads slightly raised while trying Acknowledgments. We thank to R. Ardjoen for providing the to push downward the opponent’s head. A lateral head video of the record described above. VM thanks to Coordenação punch was also observed, in which one male slightly left de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (485682/2020- the neck coil to press the other male downwards (Fig. 00) and DL to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (310859/2020-4) for research fellowships. 1C) and slam the opponent with its head. Most of the fight effort of individuals was applied in the anterior portion of their bodies, with neither cloacal contacts, nor References hemipenis exhibition, nor tail movements and displays. Almeida-Santos, S.M., Aguiar, L.F.S., Balestrin, R.L. (1998): Furthermore, no mouth bites or mouth displays were Micrurus frontalis (coral snake): Male Combat. Herpetological observed. Both the body coil and the downward push Review 29: 242–242. of the head are widespread behaviours in the male-male Campbell, J.A., Lamar, W.W. (2004): The venomous reptiles of the western hemisphere. Fourh Edition. Cornell University, combats, not only in elapids (Senter et al., 2014). All New York, USA, Comstock Publishing. the records of male combat in Micrurus species have Marques, O.A.V. (1996): Reproduction, seasonal activity and exhibited the body coil (Valencia et al., 2020). However, growth of the coral snake, Micrurus corallinus (Elapidae), in only in the present observation the specimens moved the southeastern Atlantic forest in Brazil. Amphibia-Reptilia laterally during the body coil. 17: 277–285. Our study represents the first record of male combat in Marques, O.A.V., Pizzatto, L., Santos, S.M.A. (2013): M. hemprichii, a triadal coral snake species. However, Reproductive strategies of new world coral snakes, genus Micrurus. Herpetologica 69: 58–66. our record comes from a species without morphometric Missassi, A.F.R., Coeti, R.Z., Germano, V.J., Almeida-Santos, sexual dimorphism, as is the case in M. lemniscatus S.M. (2017): Micrurus lemniscatus carvalhoi (coral snake): carvalhoi (Missassi et al., 2017), which corroborates Reproduction / Male-Male Combat. Herpetological Review that non-sexually dimorphic BRT congeners may 48: 214–215. First record of male combat for Micrurus hemprichii 183 Paine, T.D., Farfán, R.S.C. (2020): On the Distribution of Micrurus hemprichii and the First Confirmed Records of Occurrence in Madre de Dios, Southern Peru. Herpetological Review 51: 30–31. Senter, P., Harris, S.M., Kent, D.L. (2014): Phylogeny of courtship and male-male combat behavior in snakes. PLoS ONE 9: e107528. Shine, R. (1978): Sexual size dimorphism and male combat in snakes. Oecologia 33: 269–277. Shine, R. (1994): Sexual size dimorphism in snakes revisited. Copeia 2: 326–346. Silva-Jr, N.J. (2016): As cobras-corais do Brasil: biologia, taxonomia, venenos e envenenamentos. First Edition. Goiânia, Goiás, Brasil. PUC-Goiás. Valencia, J.H., Garzón-Tello, K., Cogălniceanu, D. (2020): Male- male combat in the coralsnake Micrurus mipartitus decussatus (Duméril et al., 1854) (Squamata: Elapidae). Herpetology Notes 13: 329–332. Accepted by Fábio Hepp.