Body shape and diet reflect arboreality degree of five congeneric snakes sympatric in the Atlantic forest

Banci, Karina Rodrigues da Silva; Guimarães, Murilo; Siqueira, Lucas Henrique Carvalho; Muscat, Edelcio; Sazima, Iván; Marques, Otávio A. V.

doi:10.1111/btp.13107

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…However, we found an opposite intraspecific variation which means that the scale count may vary in smaller geographical scales. The number of ventral and subcaudal scales is strongly related to the number of vertebrae, and consequently to the macrohabitat, with the density of vertebrae increasing with arboreal habitat (Banci et al., 2022; Hampton, 2011). Therefore, the largest number of scales in specimens of the coastal population associated with smaller sizes indicates higher scale densities and suggests a most accentuated use of arboreal habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the largest number of scales in specimens of the coastal population associated with smaller sizes indicates higher scale densities and suggests a most accentuated use of arboreal habitat. Observational and/or experimental studies monitoring specimens in the field may elucidate this issue (cf Banci et al., 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This pattern is mainly associated with differences in the environmental pressures to which each population is subjected. These pressures can be of biotic origin such as eating habits in different types of prey (Aubret et al., 2004; Banci et al., 2022), but also of abiotic origin linked to climate, geography (e.g. altitude, latitude), or phytophysiognomy (Cruz‐Elizalde et al., 2017; Nóbrega et al., 2016; Zhong et al., 2017), which may be a confounding factor when comparing morphology between groups.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Morphological variation in the common lancehead populations: Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic patterns

2022

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The common lancehead Bothrops jararaca is widespread in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The species is known to show a marked sexual dimorphism pattern, with the female being larger than the male. However, most efforts in clarifying morphological variation between the sexes are often focused on a single population. In this paper, we investigate how sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic trajectories vary among populations as well as the ontogenetic trajectories of B. jararaca. We analyzed 211 specimens from a coastal and a highland population and measured 17 morphological traits, including linear and meristic characteristics, and the analysis revealed a clear but variable effect of sex and population. Females were larger than males in all evaluated populations. Furthermore, females in the coastal population were generally smaller than in the highland population but had significantly more scales. Widespread species often experience differential environmental pressures even in terms of biotic and abiotic factors. We attribute the results found herein to specificities in prey availability and climatic conditions which affect the ontogenetic pattern between the sexes and the populations, resulting in specific sexual dimorphism patterns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Morphological variation in the common lancehead populations: Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic patterns

2022

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A new foraging habitat forChironiusvine snakes and a new prey forChironius braziliin open rocky Cerrado habitats in Central Brazil

Parreira,

Kimura,

Carvalho Lima

et al. 2023

Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment

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Sexual dimorphism in the Neotropical snakes genus Chironius (Serpentes: Colubridae)

dos Santos,

Klaczko,

Prudente

2024

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Sexual dimorphism is a common phenomenon among snakes, with female snakes being larger than male snakes as a recurrent pattern . However, species that show male-male combat behaviour may impose a selective advantage by developing larger bodies in male specimens, like the diurnal Chironius snakes, which display courtship and male-male combat behaviours. In this study, we analysed sexual dimorphism in body, tail, and head size, and skull size and shape in twelve species of Chironius. We investigated whether sexual dimorphism patterns could be a result of allometric growth. The absence of sexual dimorphism regarding body and head length was the main pattern revealed by our analyses. Sexual dimorphism characterized by larger body and head sizes in males was observed in Chironius bicarinatus, Chironius foveatus, and Chironius fuscus. Only females of Chironius exoletus exhibited larger body and head sizes than males. Regarding the shape of the head, six species showed sexual divergences, with enlarged or robust heads. Sexual dimorphism in skull shape seems related to selection in Chironius flavolineatus, with no allometric influences. Larger tails in males of C. fuscus, C. flavolineatus, and Chironius quadricarinatus may represent an advantageous defensive strategy. Finally, the lack of divergence in tail length in the remaining species probably evolved due to arboreal habits in Chironius.

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Body shape and diet reflect arboreality degree of five congeneric snakes sympatric in the Atlantic forest

Cited by 4 publications

References 61 publications

Morphological variation in the common lancehead populations: Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic patterns

Morphological variation in the common lancehead populations: Sexual dimorphism and ontogenetic patterns

A new foraging habitat forChironiusvine snakes and a new prey forChironius braziliin open rocky Cerrado habitats in Central Brazil

Sexual dimorphism in the Neotropical snakes genus Chironius (Serpentes: Colubridae)

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