Diet and habitat use of swamp racer snake, Mastigodryas bifossatus Raddi (Serpentes, Colubridae) in subtropical domains of Brazil

Mastigodryas bifossatus Raddi, 1820 is a large neotropical colubrid snake that inhabits open areas in South America. The diet is mainly composed by frogs, but it includes other items like mammals and lizards. The dissection of 224 specimens of this snake, proceeding from the states of Rio Grande do...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista brasileira de zoologia 2007-09, Vol.24 (3), p.729-734
Main Authors: Leite, P, Nunes, S, Cechin, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anura
Colubridae
Lacertilia
Leptodactylidae
Mastigodryas
Serpentes
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Summary:Mastigodryas bifossatus Raddi, 1820 is a large neotropical colubrid snake that inhabits open areas in South America. The diet is mainly composed by frogs, but it includes other items like mammals and lizards. The dissection of 224 specimens of this snake, proceeding from the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana, stored in herpetological collections in Brazil and a field study between 1996 and 1998, provided information on dietary habits and habitat use of this snake in subtropical domains in Brazil. This snake eats mainly amphibians of the family Leptodactylidae (80%), mammals (10%) and lizards (2%). There is ontogenetic diet shift in M. bifossatus, as the snake grows, the range of preys grows as well. M. bifossatus occur in open areas.
ISSN:0101-8175
DOI:10.1590/S0101-81752007000300025