Climbing and swallowing: new food item in the diet of Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996 (Squamata: Dipsadidae) with note of climbing behavior

Abstract

Observations on the natural history of snakes, including their food items and behavior, are essential for increasing the basic knowledge about species. Here we report the encounter of a Pseudoboini snake, Boiruna sertaneja, feeding on an individual of Philodryas nattereri on an unnatural perch elevated two meters above ground level. This is the first record of predation by B. sertaneja on P. nattereri, which increases what is known about the diet and feeding behavior of the species in semi-arid areas of northeastern Brazil.

Keywords

• Foraging
• Ophiophagy
• Pseudoboini