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    2 Mora y Robinson Loxocemus - Lepidochelys

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    José Mora
    The snake Loxocemus bicolor was observed preying on sea turtle eggs of the species Lepidochelys olivacea on a beach in Costa Rica. The snake consumed 3 eggs over the course of an hour, wrapping its body around each egg in coils before piercing and swallowing the egg whole with little loss of contents. This observation provides evidence that sea turtle eggs may be a seasonal part of L. bicolor's diet, which aligns with the overlapping distributions of this snake species and sea turtles.

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    2 Mora y Robinson Loxocemus - Lepidochelys

    Uploaded by

    José Mora
    34 views2 pages
    The snake Loxocemus bicolor was observed preying on sea turtle eggs of the species Lepidochelys olivacea on a beach in Costa Rica. The snake consumed 3 eggs over the course of an hour, wrapping its body around each egg in coils before piercing and swallowing the egg whole with little loss of contents. This observation provides evidence that sea turtle eggs may be a seasonal part of L. bicolor's diet, which aligns with the overlapping distributions of this snake species and sea turtles.

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    2 Mora y Robinson Loxocemus_Lepidochelys

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    The snake Loxocemus bicolor was observed preying on sea turtle eggs of the species Lepidochelys olivacea on a beach in Costa Rica. The snake consumed 3 eggs over the course of an hour, wrapping its body around each egg in coils before piercing and swallowing the egg whole with little loss of contents. This observation provides evidence that sea turtle eggs may be a seasonal part of L. bicolor's diet, which aligns with the overlapping distributions of this snake species and sea turtles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    34 views2 pages

    2 Mora y Robinson Loxocemus - Lepidochelys

    Uploaded by

    José Mora
    The snake Loxocemus bicolor was observed preying on sea turtle eggs of the species Lepidochelys olivacea on a beach in Costa Rica. The snake consumed 3 eggs over the course of an hour, wrapping its body around each egg in coils before piercing and swallowing the egg whole with little loss of contents. This observation provides evidence that sea turtle eggs may be a seasonal part of L. bicolor's diet, which aligns with the overlapping distributions of this snake species and sea turtles.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    COMUNICACIONES Rev. Biol. Trop.

    , 32(1): 1 6 1-162, 1 984

    Predation of sea turtle eggs (Lepidochelys) by the snake


    Loxocemus bicolor C ope *

    José Manuel Mora and Douglas C. Robinson


    Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica.

    (Received for publication September 23, 1 983)

    Resumen: Muy poco se conoce de la historia natural de la serpiente Loxocemus bi�olor Cope. Se informa
    que esta especie incluye en su dieta huevos de la tortuga marina Lepidochelys ollVacea Eschscho1tz y se
    .
    discute su comportamiento para depredarlos con base en observaciones hechas en Costa RIca.

    In recent times the snake genus Loxocemus snake was suspected of eating eggs or hatchlings
    has been variously considered to belong to the and was inconc1usively identified as L. bicolor.
    Loxocemidae (McDowell, 1 975), Boidae
    On August 29th, 1 983, at 6 : 30 p.m. after
    (Willard, 1 977), Xenopeltinae (Dowling and
    dusk on Ostional Beach, 90 km south of
    Duellman, 1 978) and Pythonidae (Alvarez del
    Nancite, in the same province, we observed a L.
    Toro, 1 982). Loxocemus bicolor Cope, the
    bicolor approximately 1 .25 m in total length
    only recognized species, occurs from Nayarit,
    crawling through the sand. An arribada of
    México through northwestem Costa Rica on
    perhaps several thousand L. olivacea was
    the Pacific coast of Middle America and in
    occurring at the time, with the turtles in various
    Chiapas, México and northeastem Hopduras on
    stages of nesting. The snake was observed for
    the Atlantic (Nelson and Meyer, 1967). In
    about one hour during which time it consumed
    Honduras it is known from sea level to an
    three eggs. The first was encountered on the
    altitude of approximately 600 m where it is
    surface near a nest taken by poachers. The
    reported from Tropical Moist F orest, Tro�ical
    second was eaten within this same nest. The last
    Dry Forest and Tropical Arid Forest formatlons
    was tossed in the vicinity of the snake together
    (Wilson and Meyer, 1 9 80). Scrub or thomy
    with a hermit crab but only the egg was taken.
    open forest occurs through most of its range
    In each case the snake attempted various times
    where it has been found in rock piles, holes in
    to bite the egg and on succeding, enveloped it
    the ground, under leaf litter, logs and the bark
    with about two loops of the anterior third of its
    of logs (Nelson and Meyer, 1 967) and occa­
    trunk using the method termed category 1 by
    ssionally abroad at night or on rainy days, as
    Willard ( 1 977) in which "The snake makes coils
    well as frequently inside ant hills, but primarily
    with its venter toward its own head". This
    subterranean (Alvarez del Toro, 1 982). The
    pressure enabled the snake to pierce the egg,
    latter states that little or almost nothing is
    after which the entire egg was engulfed with
    known of its habits. little or no loss.
    One of us (Robinson) received a photograph
    of a snake emerging from a sea turtle (Lepido­ The snake continued probing until it was
    chelys olivacea Eschscholtz) nest on Nancite frightened by something and escaped.
    Beach, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The Willard ( 1 977) does not specify the prey
    item used in his experiments with Loxocemus.
    The distribution of this genus conforms well
    *Partially financed by a World Wildlife Fund grant to
    with that of sea turtles and large iguanid lizards
    D.C. Robinson and administered under Pro! � ct
    02-07-08-95 by the Vicerrectoría de InvestlgaclOn, whose eggs could well be, at least seasonally, a
    Universidad de Costa Rica. stable portion of its dieto
    162 REVISTA DE BIOLOGIA TROPICAL

    LlTERATURE CITED reference to those in the Bernice P. Bishop Mu­


    seum. Part 11. Anilioidt:a and Pythoninae. J. Herp.,
    9: 1-80.

    Alvarez del Toro, M. 1 9 82. Los reptiles de Chiapas. Nelson, C. E., & J. R. Meyer. 1967. Variation and
    33 ed. Instituto de Historia Natural. Tuxtla Gutié­ distribution of the Middle American snake genus
    rrez, Chiapas, México. 248 p. Loxocemus Cope (Boidae?). Sthwest. Natur.,
    1 2 : 439-453.
    Dowling, H.G., & W. E. Duellman. 1 978. Systematic
    Herpetology: A Synopsis of Families and Higher Willard, D. E. 1977. Constricting methods of snakes.
    Categories. Hiss Publications, New York. (unpa­ Copeia, 1 9 7 7 : 379-382.
    ginated).
    Wilson, 1. D., & J. R. Meyer. 1 982. The snakes of
    McDowell, S. B. 1 975. A catalogue of the snakes of Honduras. Milwaukee Public Museum. Wisconsin.
    New Guinea and the Solomons, with special 159 p.

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