Serpentiform body is a morphological adaptation present in several groups of animals. This body shape is often associated with snakes, which can result in the indiscriminate killing of animals. Despite their great socioeconomic and ecological importance, snakes are commonly associated with feelings of aversion, fear, and disgust, that may lead to the inhibition of conservation measures. The present work was conducted in the vicinity of the M'Boi Mirim Park, in São Paulo (Brazil) to record popular knowledge and to discuss public feelings and attitudes towards snakes and other elongated legless animals. We conducted semistructured interviews with 70 participants. The largest percentage of the participants identified snakes by the forked tongue and cylindrical body shape, obvious characteristics to human eyes. In an encounter with a serpentiform animal that may be a venomous snake, this behavior is advantageous as it is better to deal with a false positive than with a false negative. However, this result demonstrated a lack of adequate knowledge about the morphological traits exclusive to snakes. Many participants are afraid of snakes, which, along with misidentification, can cause disastrous encounters and lead to the killing of any snakelike animal. Furthermore, we found that even in a large city, legends and myths about snakes and snakelike animals are passed on through generations. Additionally, people are unaware that some snake populations or even species are under risk of extinction. Our results point to the need for an educational program that changes public attitudes towards snakes and snakelike animals at Municipal parks.

In snakes, behavioral differences between sex and body size can positively influence locomotor performance and metabolic rate. Evidence suggests that larger body size can positively influence the locomotor performance of snakes and affect the metabolic rate of individuals. However, the influence of sexual variation on locomotor performance may not be entirely explained by the variation in body morphology, but also by sexual behavior. Herein, we investigated the locomotor performance, resting metabolic rate, and enzyme activities in the biochemical metabolic pathways of the sexually dimorphic snake Tomodon dorsatus. We used 20 females and 14 males to measure the sprint speed as a proxy for locomotor performance and oxygen consumption to assess the metabolic rate. We also measured the maximum activity of the enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase in the intercostal skeletal muscle, liver, and heart. Individual snout–vent length was related to tail length, body mass, and sex but was not with the maturity. Males of T. dorsatus are faster than females, and sprint speed and oxygen consumption were found to not be correlated. Males also had higher metabolic rate, while enzyme activities were similar in males and females. These results contributed to understanding the sexual variation in the reproductive behavior of T. dorsatus. Although the results on locomotor performance do not support the hypothesis that locomotion in the species is favored by sexual dimorphism, the increased locomotor performance in males can be explained by courtship behavior. On the other hand, sexual dimorphism and smaller body size can explain the increased metabolic rates in males.

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In Squamate reptiles, vitellogenesis in females is marked by an increase in the number and size of follicles, leading to an increase in aerobic metabolism to support the rising energy demand during reproductive activity. Male gametes are smaller than female gametes, and spermiogenesis requires less energy than vitellogenesis. This investigation compares the relationship between aerobic metabolism and reproductive effort in male and female viviparous Tomodon dorsatus snakes. We evaluated the influence of the males' and females' reproductive stages, along with the masses of follicles and testicles, on their aerobic metabolic rate. Our findings show that females have higher maintenance cost of pregnancy than metabolic costs of vitellogenesis. In males, we found no evidence of the reproductive effort influencing aerobic metabolic rates. In T. dorsatus, females have a long period of development and high fecundity. Therefore, the metabolic costs of vitellogenesis represent a critical component in the reproductive effort. On the other hand, males of T. dorsatus maintain a similar mass of gonads throughout the year with constant energy demand. These results reflect the difference in reproductive efforts between females and males of T. dorsatus.

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