IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•23(1):46–50•APR2016

Predation Attempt by the Cuban Racer, Cubophis cantherigerus (Squamata: Dipsadidae)

on the Cuban Giant Anole, Anolis equestris buidei (Squamata: Dactyloidae),

a Threatened Endemic SubspeciesTomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera1, Javier Torres López2, Ruben Marrero3, and José A. Podio Martínez4

1JardínBotánicodeCienfuegos,PepitoTey,Cienfuegos,CP59290,Cuba(tomasmichel.rodriguez@gmail.com)2DepartamentodeBiologíaAnimalyHumana,FacultaddeBiología,UniversidaddelaHabana,LaHabana,CP10400,Cuba(javiertorres@fbio.uh.cu)

3DivisióndeZoologíadeVertebrados,InstitutodeEcologíaySistemática,LaHabana,CP11900,Cuba(rubens@ecologia.cu)4ServiciosAmbientalesdeMatanzas,Varadero,Cárdenas,Matanzas,CP10800,Cuba(jeseangel.podio@nauta.cu)

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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

F

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©2016.TomásM.Rodríguez-Cabrer.Allrightsreserved.

WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL

Snakesswallowtheirpreywhole,sogapelimitsthesizeofthepreytheycanconsume(e.g.,Rodríguez-Roblesetal.

1999;Vincentetal.2006).Nevertheless,mostsnakesareabletocapture,subdue,andkilllargepotentialprey,butinsomeinstancessuchananimalistoolargeforthesnakeandcannotbeswallowed(e.g.,CaramaschiandNiemeyer2012;Fongetal.2013;Vargas-SalinasandAponte-Gutierrez2013;Torresetal.2014b).Onotheroccasions,thepotentialpreycanbeswallowedbutexceedsthesnake’sstomachcapacityandislaterregurgitated(withtheconsequentwasteofenergy)orthesnakemightevendie(e.g.,CaramaschiandNiemeyer2012).Regardless, the eventual result is unsuccessful orfailedpredation.ThisphenomenonhasbeenreportedtwiceinCubansnakes,andbothcasesinvolvedtheCubanGiantTrope, Tropidophis melanurus(Tropidophiidae;Fongetal.2013;Torresetal.2014).However,fewcasesof“failedpre-dation”havebeenreportedinotherthanconstrictingsnakes(e.g.,Vargas-SalinasandAponte-Gutierrez2013).Hereinwereport“failedpredation”byaCubanRacer,Cubophis cantherigerus cantherigerus(Dipsadidae),onaCubanGiant Anole,Anolis equestris buidei (Dactyloidae;Fig.1).Thisisthefirstreportof“failedpredation”byacolubroidsnakeintheWestIndies,andthefirstreportofasnakeattemptingtopreyonananoleofthecrown-giantecomorphinCuba. At1250hon7April2004,anadultCubophis c. can-therigerus (ca.750mmSVL,37mmheadlength)andanadultfemaleAnolis equestris buidei(ca.165mmSVL,51mmheadlength)fellfromthethatchedroofofasmallrusticwoodengazebo(Fig.2)intheprotectedarea“Varahicacos”(23º11’39”N, -81º09’11”W;WGS 84) on theHicacosPeninsula (Fig. 3),Cárdenas,MatanzasProvince,Cuba.

Whentheyhittheground,thesnakehadbittentherightforearmofthelizard(Fig.4A).Thesnakerapidlylaidonecoil around thepelvic regionof the lizard (Fig.4B)andremainedinthatpositionforabout45sec.Duringthistime,thesnaketriedrepeatedlytoswallowtheforearmofthelizarduntilitreachedthescapularregion,afterwhichitreleasedthecoil(Fig.4C).Thesnakemaintainedthebitefor2minand25sec,duringwhichitfrequentlyreadjusteditsjaws.Subsequently,thesnakereleasedthelizard,whichremainedmotionless,witheyesclosed,andwithadrabolive-yellowcoloration(Figs.4D–F).Thesnakeimmediatelysearchedfortheheadofthelizardandcommencedswallowing(Fig.4D).Afteraboutaminuteandahalf,thesnakeceasedtryingtoswallowthelizard,butremainedalongsideitforaboutfour

Fig. 1. AnadultmaleCubanGiantAnole(Anolis equestris buidei)fromtheprotectedarea“Varahicacos,”MatanzasProvince,Cuba.PhotographbyRaimundoLópez-Silvero.

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moreminutes,openingitsmouthandreadjustingthejaws(Fig.4E).Thesnakethenbitthelizardbeforeabandoningit(Fig.4F).Weexaminedthelizardimmediatelyandfoundthatithaddied.Whetherthesnakeabandonedthelizardbecauseofaninsufficientgapesize,becauseofthephotogra-pher’sproximity,orsomecombinationofbothisuncertain. “Truepredators”(sensuBegonetal.2006)killandcon-sumetheirpreymoreorlessimmediatelyafterattackingit,whichensurestheflowofenergyandmatterfromonetro-phicleveltothenext.Thus,aninstanceinwhichananimalcapturesandkillsanotherwithoutingestionandthesubse-quentenergeticrewardshouldbeclassifiedas“unsuccessful

orfailedpredation.”Unsuccessfulpredationhastwopotentialoutcomesfortheprey.Itmightbecapturedandkilledoritiscapturedbutnotkilledbythepotentialpredator.Inthefirstcase,thepotentialpreycanbeconsumedbydetritivoresandenterthedecomposerchaindirectly(seeBegonetal.2006).Inthesecondinstance,thepotentialpreyremainsaliveandnoalterationinthefluxofenergyoccursexceptfortheenergywastedbybothindividualsinvolvedinthepredationattempt. WestIndiananolesofthecrown-giantecomorphareamongthelargestspeciesinthegenusAnolis,withsnout-ventlengthssometimesexceeding190mm(e.g.,Losos2009).Thisecomorphcomprises12speciesdistributed inCuba

IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•23(1):46–50•APR2016RODRÍGUEZETAL.

Fig. 2.Rusticwoodengazebo(A)attheprotectedarea“Varahicacos”whereweobservedthepredationattempt.(B)Insideviewoftheroofwherethelizardwaspresumablyresting.PhotographsbyTomásM.Rodríguez-Cabrera.

Fig. 3. MapoftheHicacosPeninsuladepictingthelocation(triangle)whereweobservedthepredationattemptbyaCubanRacer(Cubophis cantherigerus cantherigerus) onaCubanGiantAnole(Anolis equestris buidei).

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(6),Hispaniola(3),Jamaica(1),andtheGreaterPuertoRicoBank (2; e.g.,HendersonandPowell2009;Losos2009;PowellandHenderson2012).Inadditiontolargesize,some

oftheseanolesareveryaggressiveandhaveapowerfulbite(seeHendersonandPowell2009forareview).Nonetheless,eventhisconsiderableaggressiondoesnotdetersomepredators,

Fig. 4. SequenceofphotographsoffailedpredationbyaCubanRacer(Cubophis cantherigerus cantherigerus)onaCubanGiantAnole(Anolis equestris bui-dei):(A)Immediatelyafterfallingtotheground,(B)thesnakecoilsaroundthelizard,(C)thesnakeswallowingtherightforelimbandbitingthescapularregionofthelizard,(D)thesnaketryingtoswallowthelizardbyitshead,(E)thesnakereadjustingitsjawsadjacenttothemotionlesslizard,and(F)thesnakebitingthelizardbeforeabandoningit.PhotographsbyJoseA.PodioMartínez.

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andseveralspeciesareknowntoconsumegiantanoles.Theseincludesnakes(Borikenophis, Chilabothrus, Magliophis),birds(Buteo, Coccyzus, Crotophaga, Falco, Margarops, Quiscalus, Turdus, Tyto),andmammals(Herpestes, Homo, Rattus;seeHendersonandPowell2009forareview).However,theonlyconfirmedpredatorsinCubaarebirds(Coccyzus merlini, Falco sparverius, and Turdus plumbeus)andonlytheCubanGiantAnole(Anolis equestris)isrecordedasprey(seeHendersonandPowell2009forareview). Envenomationcouldberesponsibleforthedeathofthelizardreportedherein,especiallyafterabitesustainedforsev-eralminutes.TheCubanRacerisanopistoglyphoussnake

(i.e.,withenlargedposteriormaxillary fangs;Neill1954;JaumeandGarrido1980;thispaper;Fig.5).Thevenomisnotlethaltohumans,butitcanoccasionallyproduceinflam-mation,flushing,pain,andfever(Neill1954;JaumeandGarrido1980).Foractualprey,itmightfacilitatesubmis-sion(HendersonandSajdak1996)oreveninitiatedigestion.However,noresearchhasexaminedthetoxiceffectsoftheCubanRacer’svenomindifferentkindsofprey,norhasitsDuvernoy’sglandbeenstudied.ThisisinsharpcontrastwiththePuertoRicanRacer(Borikenophis portoricensis),inwhichboththevenomandtheenvenomationapparatushasbeendescribedinsomedetail(Rodríguez-Robles1992;Rodríguez-RoblesandThomas1992;Rodríguez-RoblesandLeal1993;WeldonandMackessy2010). TheCubanGiantAnole,whichcomprises11subspe-cies,iswidelydistributedintheCubanArchipelago(SchwartzandGarrido1972;Garrido1975,1981;Garridoetal.2001)andhasbeenintroducedintoFloridaandOahu,Hawaii(e.g.,Brach1974;Dalrymple1980;HendersonandPowell2009).Anolis equestris buidei SchwartzandGarrido1972(maximumSVL176mminmalesand148mminfemales)occursexclu-sivelyontheHicacosPeninsula,thenorthernmostpointofmainlandMatanzasProvince(SchwartzandGarrido1972,1981). This subspecies was considered “Vulnerable” byRodríguezSchettino(1999),butitsrestricteddistribution(lessthan15km2)andcurrentthreats(i.e.,reductionandfragmentationofsuitablehabitatsbecauseofincreaseddevel-opmentfortourism;seeTorresetal.2014b)mightwarrantclassificationas“CriticallyEndangered.”Predationisnatural,butcanhaveharmfuleffectsondecliningpopulationswhenthepredationrateexceedstherecoveryrateofpreypopula-tions(seeBegonetal.2006).Consequently,understandingallrealandpotentialthreatsaffectingthis lizard,whethernaturaloranthropogenic,iscrucialforitsmanagementandlong-termconservation.

AcknowledgementsWeacknowledgeRosarioDomínguez,RaimundoLópez-Silvero,andAnaisaCajigasGandiaforfieldassistanceandforhelpingwithphotographs.WealsothankAnselFongforpro-vidingliterature.Finally,theadministrationoftheprotectedarea“Varahicacos”,particularlyitsdirectorDanielFajardo,helpedwithtechnicalandlogisticalsupport.

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