New dietary records for the Cuban Spotted Red Trope, Tropidophis maculatus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae)

Abstract

Tropidophis maculatus (Bibron, 1840) is a mesophilic snake inhabiting forest patches and open secondary scrub savannas in western and central Cuba (Schwartz & Henderson 1991; Rodríguez et al. 2013). The only dietary records for this species are the lizards Anolis angusticeps and A. alutaceus, for individuals from Havana city (Collette 1961). Herein we provide new data on the diet of wild T. maculatus. On 17 April 2010, we found a juvenile female Tropidophis maculatus (140 mm SVL) at Soroa (22.7960, -83.0060; 200 m a.s.l.), Candelaria Municipality, Artemisa Province. We found the snake at 1317 hours under a rock with a big stomach bulge (Fig. 1). It later regurgitated a partially digested male Anolis homolechis that had been swallowed head first (ca. 40 mm SVL; Fig. 2). The predominant vegetation in the area is semi-deciduous forest.

New prey records for two snakes of the genus Tropidophis (Tropidophiidae) from urban habitats in La Habana, Cuba

“…Because anoles tend to sleep on perches above ground level, both in plants and in human-made structures such as buildings, fence mesh, and barbed wire, the Spotted Red Trope probably found its prey using an active foraging strategy. This coincides with comments in Díaz and Cádiz (2020) and Rodríguez-Cabrera et al (2020a, 2020c, who described this species as a climbing, semi-arboreal snake.…”

Westernmost record of the Spotted Red Trope, Tropidophis maculatus (Squamata: Tropidophiidae), with comments on the Tropidophis species assemblage from the Guanahacabibes Peninsula

“…Our observation of the individual from the "María La Gorda" Resort corroborates statements in Díaz and Cádiz (2020) and Rodríguez-Cabrera et al (2020a, 2020c) that this species readily climbs. In this case, the snake was on a wooden handrail, similar to conspecifics observed on vegetation in more natural areas (Rodríguez-Cabrera et al 2020a, 2020c.…”

“…Our observation of the individual from the "María La Gorda" Resort corroborates statements in Díaz and Cádiz (2020) and Rodríguez-Cabrera et al (2020a, 2020c) that this species readily climbs. In this case, the snake was on a wooden handrail, similar to conspecifics observed on vegetation in more natural areas (Rodríguez-Cabrera et al 2020a, 2020c. These actively foraging snakes feed primarily on sleeping anoles that are captured at night (Collette 1961;Rodríguez-Cabrera et al 2020a, 2020cRodríguez-Cabrera and Hernández Gómez 2021).…”

“…In this case, the snake was on a wooden handrail, similar to conspecifics observed on vegetation in more natural areas (Rodríguez-Cabrera et al 2020a, 2020c. These actively foraging snakes feed primarily on sleeping anoles that are captured at night (Collette 1961;Rodríguez-Cabrera et al 2020a, 2020cRodríguez-Cabrera and Hernández Gómez 2021). The apparent paucity of T. maculatus on the Guanahacabibes Peninsula could be attributable to a relatively recent dispersal of the species into the region.…”

Trophic ecology and morphology of Anolis bartschi (Squamata: Dactyloidae) in Viñales National Park, Cuba

“…This fire ant is invasive in Cuba, and no evaluation of damage to human and/or native fauna has been studied. Rodríguez-Cabrera et al (2020) reported fire ants in the stomach of the snake Tropidophis maculatus (Bibron, 1840), but due to the low number of ants, this consumption seemed to have been accidental. The intentional consumption of this ant was detected in frogs (García-Padrón and Borrego in press, LYGP unpubl.…”