Notes on court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchlings of the Caatinga’s black snake Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The Caatinga's black snake Boiruna sertaneja is a Pseudoboini species, endemic of the Caatinga biome. It is rare and fits in five traits that suggest it deserve more attention in reproduction research and conservation policies. Here we provide information on reproductive biology of B. sertaneja by adding new data about court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchling morphometry and pattern of color based on captivity specimens. The court and copula, as well as oviposition of B. sertaneja in the Caatinga are associated to period of high temperature and dry season. Our findings indicate that females of B. sertaneja, in nature, could select protected places or actively build their nests. We recorded three oviposture after a single event of copula by the female of B. sertaneja. The long time gap between copula and clutches strongly suggests that female B. sertaneja can store sperm in their oviducts for long periods or do facultative parthenogenesis. Clutch size and hatchling size of B. sertaneja was high.We observed variation on the pattern of coloration among hatchlings of same litter. This study comprises the first description of important aspects of reproduction and can give us some clues about how B. sertaneja reproduce in nature.

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

“…The genus Boiruna comprises two Pseudoboini species distributed in the cis-Andean region of South America: Boiruna maculata (Boulenger, 1896) and Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996(GUEDES et al, 2020. Popularly known as "mussuranas" in Brazil, they are medium-to large-sized opisthoglyphous snakes, with ophiophagus habits, and commonly feed on large venomous snakes, such as those in the genera Bothrops and Crotalus (SCOTT JR. et al, 2006;QUINTEROS-MUÑOZ, 2015).…”