DIET AND FEEDING BEHAVIOR OF THE MUSSURANA (Clelia clelia, SERPENTES: DIPSADIDAE) IN COSTA RICA: REPORT OF FIVE CASES

Abstract

We present a series of predation events by the ophiophagous snake Clelia clelia (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from different regions of Costa Rica and comment on the strategy used to hunt and subdue the prey.

Heavy, Bulky, or Both: What Does “Large Prey” Mean to Snakes?

“…big in an inconvenient way” (www.vocabulary.com, accessed June 1, 2021). Bulk describes a key aspect of snake feeding and has been used in this sense (e.g., Marques et al, 2010; Passos et al, 2019:9; Barends and Maritz, 2022a; Solórzano and Sasa, 2022) and yet provides an umbrella for more precise terms and elaborations (e.g., Close and Cundall, 2012; Cundall, 2019; Moon et al, 2019; Gripshover and Jayne, 2021; Jayne et al, 2022); moreover, this overarching descriptor is useful in realms as different as functional morphology and public outreach (a child alerted us to the pillow example). High RPB implies high handling costs (more time and energy for ingestion and concomitant risks from other predators), separate from but interacting with those imposed by high RPM (King, 2002; see especially Close and Cundall, 2012; Jayne et al, 2022; Kornilev et al, 2022).…”