WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES &IRCF AMPHIBIANS REPTILES • VOL &15, AMPHIBIANS NO 4 • DEC 2008 • 189 24(3):175–176 • DEC 2017

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURE ARTICLES Nocturnal. Chasing Bullsnakes Foraging (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: by Buff-striped Keelbacks, On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: AmphiesmaA Hypothetical Excursion ...... stolatum (LinnaeusRobert W. 1758)Henderson 198 RESEARCH(Reptilia: ARTICLES Squamata: Natricidae) . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ...... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in1 Florida 2 3 ...... Arpita DuttaBrian ,J. SubhadeepCamposano, Kenneth Chowdhury L. Krysko, Kevin, M. and Enge, Anirban Ellen M. Donlan, Chaudhuri and Michael Granatosky 212 11/211, Jodhpur Park, Kolkata, West Bengal, India ([email protected]) CONSERVATION ALERT 2Krishnachak, Dhurkhali, Howrah, West Bengal, India ([email protected]) . World’s Mammals36/7, Nature in Crisis Mates, ...... Bijoygarh, Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India ([email protected])...... 220 . More Than Mammals ...... 223 . The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ...... 225

HUSBANDRY he Buff-striped Keelback,. Captive Care Amphiesmaof the Central Netted stolatum Dragon ...... (Linnaeus Whitaker and Captain 2008; Shannon PlummerSrinivsaulu 226 et al. 2014). Ghosh 1758), is a diurnally active snake with an extensive dis- and Chaudhuri (2015) also recorded scavenging behavior. T PROFILE tribution in India and. Kraigthroughout Adler: A Lifetime much Promoting of southeasternHerpetology ...... Asia Dissanayake and Wellappuliarachchi Michael L. Treglia 234 (2016) reported noc- (Das 2002; Whitaker and Captain 2008). It exploits various turnal predation by A. stolatum in Sri Lanka. Here we report COMMENTARY natural and artificial habitats that include paddy fields, ponds, a second instance of nocturnal feeding from Meghauli Serai, . The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ...... Eric Gangloff 238 thick grass, bushes, gardens, and lowland forests, usually in Chitwan, Nepal (27.569561°N, 84.201907°E; elevation 149 the vicinity of waterBOOK (Das 2002;REVIEW Whitaker and Captain 2008). m asl). . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, These snakes have a diverseR. Berridge, diet. P. Young Ramani, and are B.E. known Young ...... to feed on At 2029 h on 16 July Robert2017, Powell we 243 encountered a juvenile insects and tadpoles. Adults prey on fishes, anurans, lizards, A. stolatum holding a small frog (Fejervarya sp.) on a gravel rodents, and birds, asCONSERVATION well as snails RESEARCH and other REPORTS: small Summaries inver- of Publishedpath Conservation (Fig. 1) Research with Reports Elephant ...... Grass 245(Typha elephantina) on  NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ...... 247 tebrates, including evenNEWBRIEFS scorpions ...... (Das 2002; Khan 2002; both sides. The...... snake had started swallowing 248 the frog from  EDITORIAL INFORMATION ...... 251  FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ...... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern 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. A juvenile Buff-striped Keelback (Amphiesma stolatum) taking a small frog (Fejervarya sp.) at night. Photograph by Arpita Dutta.

Copyright © 2017. Arpita Dutta. All rights reserved. 175 DUTTA ET AL. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 24(3):175–176 • DEC 2017 behind. After about 10 min of observation, it moved into is abundant, these mostly diurnal snakes readily extend forag- a bush with the frog in its mouth and finished swallowing ing behavior into the night. it. Total time taken to devour the frog was about 17 min. The previous report of nocturnal foraging by Dissanayake Acknowledgement and Wellappuliarachchi (2016) at the Mihintale Sanctuary, We thank Roshan Sapkota for his help in the field and North Central Province, Sri Lanka involved an A. stolatum Jayaditya Purkayastha for his comments on an earlier draft of feeding on an Indian Burrowing Frog (Sphaerotheca brevi- this manuscript. ceps). Also, at 1900 h on 20 April 2013, after an evening rain, AC witnessed an adult A. stolatum foraging near a marshland Literature Cited pond in Joka, Kolkata, West Bengal, India (22.450721°N, Das, I. 2002. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of India. New Holland Publishers, Ltd., London, UK. 80.309635°E; elevation 4.5 m asl). That snake was chasing a DeGregorio, B.A., J.H. Sperry, D.P. Valente, and P.J. Weatherhead. 2014. small Indian Toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), but failed to Facultative nocturnal behaviour in snakes: Experimental examination of why catch it. Hot, humid weather was a common factor in all of and how with Ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta) and Racers (Coluber constrictor). Canadian Journal of Zoology 92: 229–237. these observations. Dissanayake, D.S.B. and S. Wellappuliarachchi. 2016. Amphiesma stolatum (Buff- DeGregorio et al. (2014) demonstrated that Eastern striped Keelback) Diet. Herpetological Review 47: 307. Ratsnakes (Elaphe obsoleta) can switch between diurnal and Ghosh, A. and A. Chaudhuri. 2015. Amphiesma stolata (Buff-striped Keelback). nocturnal activity. Snakes became more active when the tem- Diet/scavenging. Herpetological Review 46: 442. Khan, M.S., 2002. A Guide to the Snakes of Pakistan. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt perature was optimal, regardless of whether it was light or am Main, Germany. dark. Sperry et al. (2013) noted that E. obsoleta is capable of Sperry, J.H., M.P. Ward, and P.J. Weatherhead. 2013. Effects of temperature, altering activity patterns in response to short-term proximate moon phase, and prey on nocturnal activity in ratsnakes: An automated telemetry study. Journal of Herpetology 47: 105–111. cues (temperature and light), shifting in the wild from diur- Srinivsaulu, C., B. Srinivasulu, and S. Molur (compilers). 2014. The Status and nal to nocturnal behavior over periods of weeks or months. Distribution of Reptiles in the Western Ghats, India. Conservation Assessment Although our observations are anecdotal, we suggest that A. and Management Plan (CAMP). Wildlife Information Liaision Development Society, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. stolatum might engage in similar activity shifts. In humid con- Whitaker, R. and Captain, A. 2008. Snakes of India, The Field Guide. Draco Books, ditions, when temperatures are optimal and amphibian prey Chennai, India.

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