Predation by the vinesnake Oxybelis aeneus (Squamata, Colubridae) on the gecko Gonatodes humeralis (Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) in a Brazilian Amazon
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Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 1111-1115 (2021) (published online on 20 August 2021)
Predation by the vinesnake Oxybelis aeneus (Squamata,
Colubridae) on the gecko Gonatodes humeralis
(Squamata, Sphaerodactylidae) in a Brazilian Amazon
forest fragment, with a compilation of its prey
Aline E. Oliveira-Souza1,*, Anderson S. Pena2, Jéssica S. Costa Anaissi1, Fernanda S. Melo1,
Rodrigo T. Pinheiro1, and Carlos E. Costa-Campos1
Lizards are common prey of snakes, and each On 17 September 2020 at 11:12 h, the second author
microhabitat appears to produce specific lizard-snake observed an adult O. aeneus preying on a female G.
interactions (Martins et al., 2002). Given the importance humeralis at Bioparque da Amazônia Arinaldo Gomes
of this relationship, information about predatory Barreto (0.0391°N, 51.0968°W), Macapá Municipality,
encounters between individuals of these groups Amapá State, Brazil. This area is an ecotone between
represents an important contribution to their natural savanna, upland forest, and floodplain (Fonseca and
history, even as it is relevant to our broader understanding Silva e Silva, 2020). The snake was about 30 cm above
of predator-prey interactions (Lima, 1998). the ground, hanging from a small tree, while it held the
The Brown Vinesnake, Oxybelis aeneus (Wagler, gecko by the middle of its body (Fig. 1). After about 6
1824), is widely distributed in all Brazilian ecoregions min the gecko remained motionless, and the snake began
with the exception of states in the southern region (Costa
and Bérnils, 2018). Oxybelis aeneus is an arboreal,
diurnal, lizard-specialist predator that also feeds on
insects, fishes, amphibians, birds, and small mammals
using a sit-and-wait foraging strategy (Hetherington,
2006; Mesquita et al., 2012; Sellmeijer and Burg, 2020).
The Trinidad Gecko, Gonatodes humeralis (Guichenot,
1855), is a sub-arboreal and diurnal lizard widely
distributed in most parts of the Amazonian region
(Ávila-Pires, 1995). It is found on the lower portions of
tree trunks, vines, leaf litter, fallen branches, and palm
leaves (Vitt et al., 1997, 2000). This species exhibits
sexual dimorphism with males possessing variably-
shaped yellow and crimson spots on their heads and
bodies, while females are predominantly a drab greyish
green colouration (Oda, 2008). We here we document
a predation event by an adult O. aeneus on an adult
female G. humeralis in a fragment of upland forest of the
Brazilian Amazon. In addition, we include a list of lizard
prey known to be consumed by this species of vinesnake.
1
Universidade Federal do Amapá, Departamento de Ciências
Biológicas e da Saúde, Laboratório de Herpetologia, 68903-419,
Macapá, Amapá, Brazil.
2
Bioparque da Amazônia Arinaldo Gomes Barreto, Rodovia Figure 1. A Brown Vinesnake, Oxybelis aeneus, preying
Juscelino Kubitschek 7904, 68903-197, Macapá, Amapá, Brazil. on an adult female Trinidad Gecko Gonatodes humeralis at
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: alineesouza1999@gmail.com Bioparque da Amazônia Arinaldo Gomes Barreto, Macapá
© 2021 by Herpetology Notes. Open Access by CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Municipality, Amapá State, Brazil.1112 Aline E. Oliveira-Souza et al.
to swallow it. None of the specimens were collected, and The diet of O. aeneus is composed of a wide variety
the record is based on our observations and photographs. of lizards in the Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and Cerrado
Lizards reported in the diet of O. aeneus include domains of Brazil, with the most important dietary items
members of the families Gekkonidae, Sphaerodactylidae, varying according to geographical location. The high
Mabuyidae, Dactyloidae, Iguanidae, Tropiduridae, proportion and diversity of lizard prey reported in its
Gymnophthalmidae, Teiidae, Corytophanidae, and diet confirms that O. aeneus is a specialized sit-and-wait
Phrynosomatidae (Table 1, Fig. 2). Most of these predator (Mesquita et al., 2012). Its body colouration
prey species are considered scansorial (i.e., capable of enables the species to mimic its environment, making
climbing; eight species of Tropiduridae, Gekkonidae, it difficult to be noticed by prey and potential predators
Sphaerodactylidae), terrestrial (six species of Teiidae, (Santos-Costa et al., 2015). However, variations in diet
Gymnophthalmidae, Mabuyidae, Corytophanidae), composition may also be a result of the capture of active
and arboreal (five species of Dactyloidae, Iguanidae, prey (lizards) and a consequence of differences in prey
Phrynosomatidae). abundance and relative availability of prey of different
Although O. aeneus is arboreal, it is commonly found on sizes (Arnold, 1993).
lower branches or on the ground during its activity period, Although Bernarde (2012) presented a record of
and it appears to feed mainly on terrestrial prey (Mesquita predation by O. aeneus on G. humeralis through
et al., 2012). Although there is no evidence that O. aeneus photos, our data complement those in the literature
specifically forages on the ground (Martins and Oliveira, by confirming that O. aeneus does indeed capture
1998; Mesquita et al., 2012), this possibility exists, since and ingest prey while suspended vertically from the
some prey items recorded in its diet are largely terrestrial vegetation. More natural history data are needed to
(Teiidae) and semi-terrestrial (Tropiduridae). However, it assess the full diversity of prey items consumed by O.
is also possible that O. aeneus captures ground-dwelling aeneus and to test whether diet preferences relate to
prey while suspended from arboreal perches (Mesquita et changes in prey availability.
al., 2012; Santana and Teixeira, 2020; Sousa et al., 2020).
This strategy may make it more difficult to immobilize Acknowledgments. We thank Paulo Bernarde for his pre-review
and ingest prey, but it seems to be a common behaviour in and anonymous referees for valuable suggestions on the first
versions of the manuscript.
the genus Oxybelis (Scartozzoni et al., 2009; Smith et al.,
2018; Sousa et al., 2020).
Figure 2. Lizard families represented in the diet of Oxybelis aeneus indicating the respective number of species reported as prey.
References used to compile these data are presented in Table 1.Predation by Oxybelis aeneus on Gonatodes humeralis 1113
Table 1. Lizard species reported as prey of the Brown Vinesnake, Oxybelis aeneus.
Species/Family Source
Gekkonidae
Mesquita et al. (2012); Franzini et al. (2018);
Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818)
Lissa et al. (2018)
Lygodactylus klugei (Smith et al., 1977) Vitt and Vangilder (1983)
Sphaerodactylidae
Gonatodes humeralis (Guichenot, 1855) Bernarde (2012); this study
Gonatodes albogularis (Duméril & Bibron, 1836) Sosa-Bartuano and Di Trani (2016)
Gonatodes vittatus (Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856) Blanco-Torres and Renjifo (2014)
Mabuyidae
Brasiliscincus heathi (Schmidt & Inger, 1951) Mesquita et al. (2012)
Dactyloidae
Lee (1996); Green (1997); Campbell (1998);
Norops bourgeaei Bocourt, 1873
Savage (2002)
Lee (1996); Green (1997); Campbell (1998);
Norops rodriguezii Bocourt, 1873
Savage (2002)
Lee (1996); Green (1997); Campbell (1998);
Norops uniformis Cope, 1885
Savage (2002)
Norops sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837 Cid-Mora and Vásquez-Cruz (2020)
Iguanidae
Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758) Diener, 2007
Ctenosaura bakeri Stejneger, 1901 Diener, 2007
Ctenosaura similis Gray, 1871 Diener, 2007
Tropiduridae
Tropidurus cocorobensis Rodrigues, 1987 Almeida et al. (2009)
Mesquita et al. (2012); Silva et al. (2015);
Tropiduris hispidus (Schmidt & Inger, 1951) Santana and Teixeira (2020); Sousa et al.
(2020)
Tropidurus hygomi Reinhardt & Lütken, 1862 Santos et al. (2012)
Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825) Vitt and Vangilder (1983)
Gymnophthalmidae
Gymnophthalmus speciosus (Hallowell, 1861) Smith and Grant (1958)
Teiidae
Vitt and Vangilder (1983); Mesquita et al.
Ameivula ocellifera (Spix, 1825)
(2012)
Aspidoscelis deppii (Wiegmann, 1834) Ramirez-Ramirez et al. (2020)
Cnemidophorus lemniscatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Smith and Grant (1958)
Corytophanidae
Basiliscus plumifrons Cope, 1875 Grant and Lewis (2010)
Phrynosomatidae
Sceloporus melanorhinus Bocourt, 1876 López-de La Cruz et al. (2016)1114 Aline E. Oliveira-Souza et al.
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