Specializations of the Body Form and Food Habits of Snakes

Pough, F. Harvey; Groves, John D.

doi:10.1093/icb/23.2.443

Cited by 185 publications

(143 citation statements)

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“…For predators that consume prey whole, prey capture and the costs of feeding are often influenced by gape size (Pough and Groves, 1983;Carroll et al, 2004). In addition, the diet (prey size and type/shape) is constrained by what can physically fit in the mouth (Forsman and Lindell, 1993;Scharf et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allometry of cranial morphology, gape size and ingestion performance in the banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) feeding on two types of prey

Hampton

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Small body size imposes limitations on the feeding capabilities of juveniles, particularly in species that consume their prey whole. It has been hypothesized that juveniles exhibit exceptional performance measures to compensate for their small size. However, few studies have examined whether juveniles have better feeding performance relative to adults and investigations of snake feeding ontogeny have not shown enhanced performance in smaller snakes. I tested the hypothesis that juvenile snakes have better feeding performance by comparing maximum gape circumference and ingestion performance (time and number of pterygoid protractions) in a series of banded watersnakes (Nerodia fasciata) of different sizes fed fish and frogs. I also measured several external and osteological dimensions of the head and used Akaike's information criterion to determine which morphological measurements were the strongest predictors of relative gape. All skull measurements and maximum gape circumference showed negative allometry relative to snout-vent length (SVL). Given the available models, Akaike information criterion (AIC) analysis indicated that both skull length and mandible length were the strongest predictors of gape circumference for both external and osteological measurements. Multiple regression analysis of ingestion performance indicated SVL was negatively correlated with the time and number of pterygoid protractions required to consume fish or frogs, indicating that juveniles do not have a higher ingestion performance than adults. While exaggerated morphology in juvenile snakes does not appear to improve ingestion performance, a larger gape should increase the ability of juvenile snakes to consume a wide range of encountered prey shapes and sizes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allometry of cranial morphology, gape size and ingestion performance in the banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) feeding on two types of prey

Hampton

2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…mass eaten per unit time) likely increases with maximum ingestible prey size, other factors being equal (Forsman & Lindell, 1993). Consequently, selection on traits in¯uencing swallowing performance has probably been strong throughout the evolutionary history of snakes, as implied by the various morphological adaptations facilitating the ingestion of larger prey by more recently evolved ophidian clades (Greene, 1983a;Pough & Groves, 1983;Cundall, 1987;Rieppel, 1988;Cundall & Greene, in press). Studying the feeding biology of a particular group of snakes in a phylogenetic context and with an adequate fossil record should help elucidate factors that signi®cantly in¯uenced the evolutionary history of the group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gape size and evolution of diet in snakes: feeding ecology of erycine boas

1999

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The Macrostomata accounts for more than 85% of extant snakes and is characterized by increased mobility of the jaws and increased gape size. We used stomach contents of museum specimens and speci®c literature records to describe the food habits of a basal clade of macrostomatan snakes ± the erycine boas (Erycinae) ± with an emphasis on the North American Charina bottae. Mammals, lizards, birds, and squamate eggs composed 66%, 17%, 7%, and 5%, respectively, of the prey of C. bottae. Smaller C. bottae fed on squamate eggs and lizards, whereas larger snakes added mammals and birds to their diet, and ceased to take squamate eggs. Ten of 12 snakes with multiple prey had eaten nestling birds or mammals, and snakes that ate multiple prey were not signi®cantly larger than those that had single prey. Charina trivirgata and C. reinhardtii also prey on mammals, whereas species of Eryx feed mainly on mammalian prey, but also eat lizards and occasionally birds. Evolutionarily more basal groups of snakes primarily feed on elongate prey, which suggests that innovations of the feeding apparatus of macrostomatans allowed these snakes to eat heavier and bulkier prey, particularly mammals. Erycines appeared and diversi®ed at approximately the same geological time as rodents, suggesting that rodents perhaps constituted an abundant prey resource that favoured the diversi®cation of early macrostomatans.

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“…Although sexual dimorphism in HL is related to dietary differences as suggested by Pough & Groves (1983), Forsman (1991), Shine (1986Shine ( , 1991, Houston and Shine (1993), Forsman (1996), King (2002), Shetty & Shine (2002), Nogueira et al (2003), Aubret et al (2004), Vincent et al (2004), and López et al (2013). The differences found in HL between males and females of P. patagoniensis are not related to diet (Hartmann & Marques 2005, López & Giraudo 2008.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Morphological variation of Philodryas patagoniensis (Girard, 1858) (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) from Brazil, based on the study of pholidosis, coloration and morphometric features

Gouveia

Novelli

Vieira³

et al. 2017

Biota Neotrop.

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GOUVEIA, R.V., NOVELLI, I.A., VIEIRA, F.M., SOUSA, B.M. Morphological variation of Philodryas patagoniensis (Girard, 1858) (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) from Brazil, based on the study of pholidosis, coloration and morphometric features. Biota Neotropica. 17(1): e20160237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1676-0611-BN-2016-0237 Abstract:The current study aimed to verify the relationship between the patterns of coloration, the morphometrical features and pholidosis of specimens of Philodryas patagoniensis from Brazil, with the sexual dimorphism of this species. We studied specimens of P. patagoniensis deposited in several herpetological collections from Brazil. A total of 355 specimens were analyzed, of these 145 were males (87 adults and 58 juveniles) and 210 were females (134 adults and 76 juveniles). Adult specimens exhibit sexual dimorphism in snout-vent length, tail length, head length, number of ventral shields, and number of subcaudal shields. The analysis of variance showed that the adult females are significantly longer than adult males, both at snout-vent length and tail length. Females have a greater number of ventral shields (138-210) than males (151-200). The specimens studied also exhibit two distinct patterns of coloration unrelated to geographical or sexual variations. Keywords

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Specializations of the Body Form and Food Habits of Snakes

Cited by 185 publications

References 14 publications

Allometry of cranial morphology, gape size and ingestion performance in the banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) feeding on two types of prey

Allometry of cranial morphology, gape size and ingestion performance in the banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata) feeding on two types of prey

Gape size and evolution of diet in snakes: feeding ecology of erycine boas

Morphological variation of Philodryas patagoniensis (Girard, 1858) (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) from Brazil, based on the study of pholidosis, coloration and morphometric features

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