by Tropidodryas serra

Herpetology Notes, volume 5: 471-472 (2012) (published online on 12 October 2012)
Predation on a bird (Piciformes, Galbulidae) by
Tropidodryas serra (Serpentes, Colubridae, Dipsadinae)
in a rainforest area of southeastern Brazil
Davor Vrcibradic1,*, Daniel Barreto de Góes1 and Ana Maria P. T. Carvalho-e-Silva1
The genus Tropidodryas Fitzinger, 1843 comprises
two species of semi-arboreal snakes [T. serra (Schlegel,
1837) and T. striaticeps (Cope, 1870)] endemic to
the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest biome and widely
distributed throughout eastern Brazil (Argôlo, 1999a,b;
Guedes and Marques, 2011). In spite of their wide
distribution, little is known about the ecology and
biology of these two species, including their food habits.
Published information on the diets of these species is
scarce and much of it is anecdotal. For example, Amaral
(1978) mentions that T. serra (as Philodryas serra) and
T. striaticeps (as Philodryas pseudoserra Amaral, 1938)
feed on lizards, frogs and small birds, without giving
more details. Marques, Eterovic and Sazima (2001)
depicted both species as feeding on small mammals and
lizards as adults and on frogs and lizards as juveniles.
Two publications give data on food habits obtained
from actual observations and/or gut content analysis:
Sazima and Puorto (1993) recorded lizards and frogs (in
juveniles) and rodents and bird feathers (in adults) in
the guts of T. striaticeps and lizards (in juveniles) and
rodents and a lizard (in adults) in the guts of T. serra;
Marques and Sazima (2004) mentioned records of
rodents (for adults) and lizards (for juveniles) as preys
of T. serra in the state of São Paulo.
On 19 January 2012, during the morning, a large adult
T. serra was seen raiding a nest of rufous-tailed jacamars
(Galbula ruficauda Cuvier, 1816) at the Reserva Rio
das Pedras (ReRP – 22º59’27”S, 44º06’00”W; ca. 50
m a.s.l.), in the municipality of Mangaratiba, state of
Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. The event was
witnessed by an employee of the reserve, who promptly
caught the snake. As he removed the reptile from the
nest, which was located in a hole in a cliff, he found that
1 Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Estado
do Rio de Janeiro, Av. Pasteur 458, Urca, 22240-290, Rio de
Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
*Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected]
it was wrapped around one jacamar fledgling. Two adult
jacamars, likely the parents of the fledgling, stayed by
the nest observing the proceedings. Upon examination,
the fledgling was found to be already dead and was
later given to the reptile, which consumed it. The snake
(adult male, snout-vent length = 930 mm; tail length =
235 mm) (Fig. 1) was handed over to one of us (DBG)
and kept alive in a terrarium until 19 June 2012, when it
was sacrificed and fixed. It is currently deposited in the
reptile collection of the Universidade Federal do Estado
do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO 53).
To our knowledge, the observation above represents
the first non-anecdotal report of T. serra preying on a
bird and the first for the genus Tropidodryas in which
the bird was identified and the predation event actually
seen. According to the employee of the reserve who
caught the snake, as well as the personal observations
of two of us (DBG and AMPTCS), the rufous-tailed
jacamar is a relatively common bird in the ReRP (Fig.
2). It is possible that predation on this bird species
(particularly nestlings and fledglings) by T. serra in
this area, as well as predation on birds in general by
Tropidodryas spp. may not be uncommon, with the lack
of records being probably a consequence of the general
lack of ecological data on these snakes.
Acknowledgments. We thank Fabiano Silva Gomes of the
Reserva Rio das Pedras for having brought this predation event to
our knowledge and for having collected the snake and handing it
over to us. We also thank Jorge Antônio L. Pontes for reviewing
the manuscript.
References
Amaral, A. (1978): Serpentes do Brasil: Iconografia colorida. 2nd
ed. São Paulo, Melhoramentos, 246 pp.
Argôlo, A.J.S. (1999a): Geographic distribution: Tropidodryas
serra. Herpetological Review 30: 55-56.
Argôlo, A.J.S. (1999b): Geographic distribution: Tropidodryas
striaticeps. Herpetological Review 30: 56.
472
Davor Vrcibradic et al.
Figure 1. Adult male Tropidodryas serra (UNIRIO 53) from the Reserva Rio das Pedras, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photo: Daniel B. de Góes
Guedes, T.B., Marques, O.A.V. (2011): Reptilia, Squamata, Serpentes, Dipsadidae, Tropidodryas striaticeps (Cope, 1869):
Latitudinal and altitudinal extension and geographic distribution map. Check List 7: 78-82.
Marques, O.A.V., Sazima, I. (2004): História natural dos répteis
da Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins. In: Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins. Ambiente físico, flora e fauna, p. 212-236. Marques, O.A.V., Duleba, W., Eds., Ribeirão Preto, Holos.
Marques, O.A.V., Eterovic, A., Sazima, I. (2001): Serpentes da
Mata Atlântica. Guia ilustrado para a Serra do Mar. Ribeirão
Preto, Holos.
Sazima I., Puorto G. (1993): Feeding technique of juvenile Tropidodryas striaticeps: probable caudal luring in a colubrid snake.
Copeia 1993: 222-226.
Figure 2. A rufous-tailed jacamar (Galbula ruficauda) at the
Reserva Rio das Pedras. Photo: Daniel B. de Góes
Accepted by Philip de Pous