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Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 2332-4961

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: 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: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198

R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S

The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida

.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212

C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T

World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225

H U S B A N D R Y

Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226

P R O F I L E

Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234

C O M M E N T A R Y

The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238

B O O K R E V I E W

Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243

CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.

Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo

estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus

aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque

moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as

IRC

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REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y

Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

Snakes typically are carnivorous with various species con-suming a variety of invertebrate and vertebrate prey, often

in accordance with size of predator and prey (Greene 1997). However, instances of herbivory, consumption of inani-mate objects, and scavenging have been reported. D’Abreu (1911) speculated that the presence of stones in the stom-ach of a Checkered Keelback (Fowlea piscator) might serve a purpose similar to that of stones consumed by crocodiles and birds. Dalziel (1937) recorded a snake feeding on fruits under a Vitex micrantha, a tropical African tree. Mookerjee (1946) described an Indian Rock Python (Python molurus) that had ingested four Mango (Mangifera sp.) fruits infested with insect larvae. Irvine (1953) reported snakes feeding on the yellow fruits of Memordica foetida, a perennial African vine. Engel (1997) described consumption of fruits (Diospyros consolatae) by a Black-necked Spitting Cobra (Naja nigricol-lis) and suggested that this might facilitate seed dispersal. Lilywhite et al. (2008) mentioned the consumption of marine

plants by Florida Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon conanti). Sharma et al. (2016) reported instances of Oriental Ratsnakes (Ptyas mucosa) feeding on an onion and consuming a piece of cloth. Deshmukh et al. (2017) documented a plastic bag con-sumed by a Common Indian Krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and Deshmukh et al. (2018) described consumption of shed skin by a Common Indian Trinket Snake (Coelognathus helena hel-ena). Herein we report unusual feeding behavior by an Indian Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja). Indian Spectacled Cobras are distributed throughout mainland India (excluding the north-east) as well as in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan (Smith 1943; Whitaker and Captain 2004). These snakes are active by day and night and feed largely on rodents, frogs, birds, and snakes (Whitaker and Captain 2004). At 0800 h on 29 April 2020 in an agricultural field near the Holiday Restaurant in the vicinity of Chicholi, Madhya Pradesh, India (21.498774°N, 78.705293°E), we observed an adult female Spectacled Cobra (TL 1,150 mm) that had

Unusual Feeding Behavior by a Spectacled Cobra, Naja naja

(Linnaeus 1785) in IndiaRahul V. Deshmukh1, Sagar A. Deshmukh2, Swapnil A. Badhekar3, and Shubham D. Katgube4

1H. N. 26, Teacher Colony, Kalmeshwar, Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, India (rahul30.snake@gmail.com [corresponding author])2Behind Potdar Nursing Home, Kalmeshwar, Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, India (sd.snakefriend@gmail.com)

3Tiwaskarwadi, Raipur, Hingana, Nagpur, Maharashtra- 441110, India (swapnilbadhekar86@gmail.com)4Saoner Ring Road, Kalmeshwar, Brahmani, Nagpur, Maharashtra-441501, India (shubham95.snake@gmail.com)

Fig. 1. An adult female Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja) ingesting fruits of an Eggplant (Solanum melongena, known in India as brinjal) in an agricultural field near the Holiday Restaurant in the vicinity of Chicholi, Madhya Pradesh, India. Note the presence of a previously swallowed fruit indicated by the red arrow. Photographs by Rahul V. Deshmukh.

DESHMUKH ETAL. REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 28(1):32–33 • APR 2021

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ingested the fruit of an Eggplant (Solanum melongena, known in India as brinjal) with an approximate diameter of 50 mm and was in the process of eating another of about the same size (Fig. 1). The snake swallowed both eggplants without difficulty. She regurgitated one eggplant and moved into vegetation alongside the agricultural field when disturbed by observers; however, she later returned to ingest the regurgi-tated fruit. Earlier reports (Mookerjee 1946; Sharma et al. 2016) documented consumption of plant material that either was rotten or infested with insect larvae. In the present case, the eggplant fruit was already rotten and its foul odor might have attracted the snake.

AcknowledgementsWe are very grateful to Vasant Kohale, Purushottam Kohale, and Suraj Kohale.

Literature CitedD’Abreu, E.A. 1911. Do snakes swallow stones? The Journal of the Bombay Natural

History Society 21: 281.

Dalziel, J.M. 1937. The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Crown Agent for the Colonies, London, United Kingdom.

Deshmukh, R.V., S.A. Deshmukh, S.A. Badhekar, and S. Katgube. 2017. A plastic bag consumed by a Common Indian Krait (Bungarus Caeruleus Schneider 1801). Reptiles & Amphibians 24: 172–174.

Deshmukh, R.V., S.A. Deshmukh, S.A. Badhekar, P. Raut, and S. Katgube. 2018. Consumption of shed skin and scavenging behavior by Common Indian Trinket Snakes, Coelognathus helena helena (Daudin 1803). Reptiles & Amphibians 25: 192–193.

Engel, T.R. 1997. Seed dispersal and plant regeneration by snakes? Ecotropica 3: 33–41.

Greene, H.W. 1997. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. USA.

Irvine, F.R. 1953. Herbivorous snakes. British Journal of Herpetology 1: 173.

Lillywhite, B.H., C.M. Sheehy, III, and F. Zaidan, III. 2008. Pitviper scavenging at the intertidal zone: An evolutionary scenario for invasion of the sea. BioScience 58: 947–955. https://doi.org/10.1641/B581008.

Mookerjee, S. 1946. Mango-fruit–on the menu of the common python (Python molurus). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 46: 733.

Sharma, V., A. Sayyad, and R. Bhandari. 2016. Herbivory and inanimate objects in the diet of the Oriental Ratsnake, Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus 1758) Reptiles & Amphibians 23: 102–103.

Smith, M.A. 1943. Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma. Reptilia and Amphibia, Vol. III – Serpentes. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London, UK.

Whitaker, R. and A. Captain. 2004. Snakes of India: The Field Guide. Draco Books, Chennai, India.