First evidential record of predation by an Ornate Flying Snake, Chrysopelea ornata (Shaw 1802), on an insectivorous bat in the central Western Ghats, Karnataka, India

Abstract

T he Ornate Flying Snake, Chrysopelea ornata (Shaw 1802), grows up to 100-120 cm in length and has a slightly greenish body with a dorsum covered in a row of red, black, and orange spots. It has the spectacular ability to glide through the air from higher areas in the forest canopy to lower ones. Chrysopelea ornata is diurnal and predominantly arboreal, and its diet consists of small vertebrate animals including rodents, frogs, lizards, and bats (Babu et al. 2018; Indian Snakes 2022). The majority of the forests of India are home to this species, which is widely distributed in all northeastern Indian states, parts of the Eastern Ghats to the entire east (Odisha and West Bengal), and the Western Ghats (Maharashtra to Kerala and Tamil Nadu) (Melvinselvan and Nibedita 2016;Ahmed et al. 2020).Bat predation is well recorded in species like the Indian Ratsnake (Ptyas mucosa) and members of the family Boidae from India (Esbérard and Vrcibradic 2007;Mallick et al. 2021). However, predation on small mammals like bats by C. ornata has been rarely documented with evidence.Herein we report an opportunistic observation of predation of an insectivorous bat in the genus Pipistrellus (Kaup 1829) by a C. ornata during a field study on non-human primates in the Agumbe Ghats of Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India. At 1427 h on 19 September 2022, at 13.4964 N, 75.0804 E, we came across a roadkilled C. ornata on SH1, a highway connecting Shivamogga to Udupi that passes through Agumbe Ghat and the Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. Upon closer inspection, we noticed a bat in its mouth (Fig. 1).The bat was identified as a member of the genus Pipistrellus using external morphology; further identification was not possible due to the extent of damage. Pipistrellus are vespertilionid bats, a family that includes most of the insectivorous bats. This genus is geographically