Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 49 Article 41 1995 Vertebrate Prey of Selected Arkansas Snakes Stanley E. Trauth Arkansas State University Chris T. McAllister Texas Wesleyan University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas Part of the Animal Studies Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Trauth, Stanley E. and McAllister, Chris T. (1995) "Vertebrate Prey of Selected Arkansas Snakes," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 49 , Article 41. Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol49/iss1/41 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. i Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 49 [1995], Art. 41 Vertebrate Prey of Selected Arkansas Snakes Stanley E. Trauth Chris T.McAllister Department of Biological Sciences Department of Biology Arkansas State University Texas Wesleyan University State University, AR 72467-0599 1201 Wesleyan Fort Worth, TX76105-1536 Introduction Material and Methods Allsnakes are carnivorous and often represent the We analyzed the stomach contents of 14 species and dominant predatory species in food chains of terrestrial subspecies of snakes collected in Arkansas and housed in ind aquatic communities. Snake food habits, feeding the Arkansas State University (ASU) herpetological collec- behavior, and tropic ecology have been extensively docu- tion. A total of 510 specimens, most of which were col- mented (Mushinsky, 1987). Food lists on the dietary pref- lected over a 10-year span (1984-1993), was examined. erences of North American snakes can be found in virtu- The alimentary tract of each specimen was entered via a ally any study on snake ecology. Snakes often eat a variety midventral incision;many of these animals had previously of vertebrate prey (often including snakes themselves been necropsied to determine their reproductive condi- [e.g., see appendix in Greene, 1988]); vertebrates consti- tion (Trauth et al., 1994). Snout-vent length (SVL) and sex tute the principal component of the diet in 95 of 116 were recorded for all dissected snakes (as well as for some snakes species (82%) reported by Mushinsky (1987). Only of the prey species). Allprey items (including, in some recently has the snake diet literature begun to emphasize cases, invertebrates) were placed in plastic bags or glass foraging theory and the interrelationships between preda- jars filled with 70% ethanol, retained as voucher speci- tor and prey (see review by Arnold,1993). mens, and deposited in the ASU herpetological collec- Research on vertebrate prey of Arkansas snakes in tion. For convenience, each species was grouped accord- limited to mostly anecdotal accounts (e.g., Trauth, 1982; ing to adult body size, mode ofreproduction, and familial Byrd et al., 1988; Trauth and Cochran, 1991) compared rank (see Trauth et al., 1994). A majority of the snake to the food habits information amassed for snakes typical- specimens utilized to compile Table 1 was collected dur- ly inhabiting the southcentral United States. These diet ing spring months (March - May). Common and scientific data are summarized or referenced in the snake life histo- names of snakes followed Conant and Collins (1991). ries of Wright and Wright (1957) or inrecent herpetologi- cal textbooks (e.g., Ernst and Barbour, 1989; Ernst, 1992), in annotated state bibliographies (Texas-Dixon, 1987; Oklahoma-Carpenter and Krupa, 1989), in state herpeto- Results and Discussion logical books (Louisiana-Dundee and Rossman, 1989; Missouri-Johnson, 1987), and in various natural history Small Oviparous Colubrid Species. —The northern studies conducted on snakes in states adjacent to or near scarlet snake, Cemophora coccinea copei, is wellknown for Arkansas (e.g., see studies by Klimsta in Illinois and by its egg-eating habits (see Mushinsky, 1987; Trauth, 1993). in Kansas as cited in Smith [1961] and Collins Of the 18 specimens examined, we found lizard eggs {'itch1993], respectively). (and/or eggshells) in three individuals (17%). One speci- In the present study, we documented vertebrate prey men had consumed six eggs, whereas the other two con- of several Arkansas snake species through the dissection tained three and five eggs. Inall cases, the eggs appeared of museum specimens. Our primary objective was to gen- to be those of the six-lined racerunner (Cnemidophorus sex- rate new information on the food habits of several snake lineatus). — pecies found within the state. A dietary study such as Medium-sized Oviparous Colubrid Species. Ernst and ours contributes to an understanding of the following: 1) Barbour (1989) summarized the literature on food habits snake's habitat choice, 2) variation in annual and sea- of the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos). onal food consumption, 3) ontogenetic dietary shifts, 4) Although toads of the genus Bufo are favorite prey in this ompetition for available food resources, and 5) geo- species, we found toads inonly four of 78 animals (5%). jraphic differences in selected food. Finally, our food Trauth (1982) reported the consumption of spotted sala- labits study represents a preliminary list for these snakes manders (Ambystoma maculatum) from a snake collected n Arkansas and adds to a database of knowledge on their near YellvilleinMarion County. ifehistory. The diet of the red milk snake (Lampropeltis triangu- lum syspila) was reviewed by Williams (1988). We found Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.49, 1995 188 Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 1995 188 Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 49 [1995], Art. 41 Vertebrate Prey of Selected Arkansas Snakes Table 1. Vertebrate prey items fromthe stomachs of 10 species ofsnakes collected inArkansas.- Abbreviations for snake species- are fol- lowedby the total number of- stomachs examined (inparentheses).- Thamnophis p. proximus- TPP (77);Masticophis f.flagellum- MFF (36); Lampropeltis getula holbrooki LGH (84); L.c. calligaster- LCC (28);L.triangulum syspila -LTS (39);Elaphe o. obsoleta EOO (66); Coluber constrictor priapus -CCP (46); Agkistrodon c. contortrix ACC (87); A.piscivorus leucostoma APL(66); Sistrurus miliariusstreckeri - SMS (19). Snake species listed in this table have more than one type ofpreyitem; see text for additional details and remarks. CCP EOO LTS LCC LGH MFF TPP SMS ACC APL Class Osteichthycs Order Perciformes Family Centrarchidae Lepomis cyantllus X Unidentifiable sunfish X Class Amphibia Order Caudata Family Ambystomatidae Ambystoma maculatum larva X Family Plethodontidae Desmognathus brimUyorum X Order Anura Family Bufonidae Bufo sp. X Family Hylidae Acris crepitans blanchardi X Hylacintrea X X Hyla versicolor/chrysoscelis X Unidentifiable hylid sp. X Family Ranidae Rana utricularia X X Family Microhylidae Gastrophryne carolinensis X Class Reptilia Order Sauna Family Phrynosomatidae Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus X X Family Scincidae Eumeces fasciatus XX X Eutneces laticeps X X ScinctUa lateralis X X XX X Unidentifiable Eumeces X XX Family Teiidae Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis X X C.s. viridiseggs X Order Serpentes Family Colubridae Coluber constrictor priapus X Diadophis punctatus X X Nervdia rhombifer X Nerodia erythrogasterflairigaster X Opheodrys aestivus X Storeria occipitomaculata X Thamnophis s. sirtalis X Unidentifiable colubrid snake X Snake eggs X Class Aves Order Passeriformes Family Icteridae Agelaius phoeniceus X Class Mammalia Order Rodentia Family Muridae Microtus ochrogaster X X Microtus pinetorum XX XX Musmusculus X Neotoma floridana X Ochrotomys nuttulli X Orywmys palustris X Peromyscus leucopus X X Pemmyscus maniculatus X Sigmodon hispidus X Unidentifiable rodent X Order Lagomorpha FamilyLeporidae SylviUtgus floridanus X Order Insectivora Family Soricidae Cryptotis parva X X Proceedings Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol.49, 1995 http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol49/iss1/41 189 Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 49 [1995], Art. 41 * ** "* / «»*»n» «» vj*ixa *.. :>nly lizards species (Table 1) in three specimens (8%). cedar glades inArkansas. — One of the prey items (C. sexlineatus) was not mentioned Medium-sized Viviparous Colubrid Species. Amphib- n the listing of natural foods by Williams (1988), ians represented the only food group recorded for two llthough this species was reported by Knight and Collins species of Thamnophis in our study. Prey of the eastern (1977) ina milksnake from Kansas. garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) consisted only of Large Oviparous Colubrid Species. —Clark (1949) and toads (Bufo sp.) in the present study. Predation by this Fitch (1963a) provided the most detailed studies on food species on wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) was mentioned by habits of the black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta); the Trauth et al. (1995). The western ribbon snake (T.p. prox- investigations were conducted in Louisiana and Kansas, imus) consumed salamander larvae and anurans (Table respectively.