Presentation Details
| Effects of prey size and venom on the feeding performance and behavior of a piscivorous snake Pelumi M.Adetuberu, Bruce C.Jayne. University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA |
Abstract
Homalopsis buccata, is a rear-fanged (opisthoglyphous) snake, but the importance of venom and the feeding behavior for this and most opisthoglyphous species are not well understood. Hence, we fed these snakes goldfish ranging from 0.44–9.64 g to test how prey size affects the use of venom, feeding behavior, and performance. Total prey handling times (HT) ranged from 9 s to more than 20 min. HT increased significantly with: increased prey size (R2=0.36), more posterior bite location (R2=0.42), and both of these factors (R2=0.74). Most prey (96%) were swallowed head-first, and tail-first swallowing of very small fish was 20 times slower than head-first swallowing. Snakes envenomated fish more frequently with increased fish size and more posterior bite location. Envenomation did not significantly affect swallowing time. However, the snakes often released immobile fish that were bitten posteriorly, and they subsequently bit the head and swallowed the fish head first. Hence, feeding performance, behavior, and envenomation were all highly variable and strongly affected by prey size for H. buccata, and envenomation primarily facilitated prey repositioning rather than handling times.
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