Predation of a squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) by an Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus): even small boids may be a potential threat to small-bodied platyrrhines

Abstract

Predation has been suggested to play a major role in the evolution of primate ecology, although reports of predation events are very rare. Mammalian carnivores, raptors, and snakes are known predators of Neotropical primates, and most reported attacks by snakes are attributed to Boa constrictor (terrestrial boas). Here, we document the predation of a squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) by an Amazon tree boa (Corallus hortulanus), the first record of the predation of a platyrrhine primate by this boid. The event was recorded during a nocturnal herpetological survey in the Piratuba Lake Biological Reserve, in the north-eastern Brazilian Amazon. The snake was encountered at 20:00 hours on the ground next to a stream, at the final stage of ingesting the monkey. The C. hortulanus specimen was 1620 mm in length (SVL) and weighed 650 g, while the S. sciureus was a young adult female weighing 600 g, 92 % of the body mass of the snake and the largest prey item known to have been ingested by a C. hortulanus. The evidence indicates that the predation event occurred at the end of the afternoon or early evening, and that, while capable of capturing an agile monkey like Saimiri, C. hortulanus may be limited to capturing small platyrrhines such as callitrichines.

Savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in Senegal react to deadly snakes and other reptiles: Testing the snake detection hypothesis

“…Acrantophis madagscarensis C Non-lethal; physical conspecific aid [5] Tarsius spectrum P. reticulatus C Lethal; non-physical conspecific aid [6] Callithrix jacchus Bothrops leucurus V Lethal [7] C. aurita Bothrops jaracara V Lethal [8] C. pencillata Boa constrictor C Lethal (2 juveniles); 2 adults attack snake [9] Leontopithecus rosalia Boa constrictor C Non-lethal [10] Saguinus mystax Boa constrictor C Non-lethal; physical conspecific aid [11] S. mystax Eunectes murinus C Lethal [12] S. fuscicollis Philodryas nattereri V Non-lethal [13] Callicebus discolor Boa constrictor C Non-lethal [14] Alouatta puruensis Boa constrictor C Lethal [15] Alouatta palliata Boa constrictor C Non-lethal Fedigan, cited in [16] Chiropotes utahickae Boa constrictor C Lethal [17] Cebus capucinus Boa constrictor C Non-lethal & lethal; nonphysical conspecific aid in the latter [18] Cebus capucinus Boa constrictor C Non-lethal; physical conspecific aid [19] Sapajus Corallus enydris C Non-lethal [20] Saimiri sciureus Boa C Lethal [21] Cercopithecus mitis stulhmanni Bitis gabonica V Lethal [22] Cercopithecus mitis albogularis Dendroaspis polylepsis V Lethal, inferred [23] Chlorocebus aethiops Python C Lethal [24] Macaca nemestrina P. moluras C Lethal [25] Trachypithecus auratus Python reticulatus C Non-lethal, encounter [26] Pan troglodytes verus Dendroaspis polylepsis V Lethal, inferred This study.…”

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

“…References to aspects of MBT for snakes include Voris and Moffett (1981), Pough and Groves (1983), Herzog and Bailey (1987), Mushinsky (1987), Sazima and Martins (1990), Shine (1991), Arnold (1993), Forsman and Lindell (1993), Martins and Oliveira (1998), Rodríguez-Robles et al (1999a,b), King (2002), Martins et al (2002), Rodríguez-Robles (2002), Mehta (2003), Andreadis and Burghardt (2005), Boback (2005), Vincent et al (2006a,b; 2007), Glaudas et al (2008), Nowak et al (2008), Vincent and Mori (2008), Willson and Hopkins (2011), Close and Cundall (2012), Hampton and Moon (2013), Loughran et al (2013), Cundall et al (2014), Maritz and Alexander (2014), Ribeiro et al (2016), Banci et al (2017), Glaudas et al (2017a,b), Means (2017), Bartoszek et al (2018), Jayne et al (2018), Glaudas et al (2019), Maritz et al (2019), Gripshover and Jayne (2021), Marques and Sazima (2021), Natusch et al (2021), Reinert et al (2021), Barends and Maritz (2022a), Cundall and Irish (2022), and Jayne et al (2022).…”

“…References with RPM data from nature for aniliids, uropeltids, boids, and pythonids include Hay and Martin (1966), Greene (1983a), Trail (1987), Slip and Shine (1988), Strussmann (1997), Martins and Oliveira (1998), Rivas (1998), Shine et al (1998), Rodríguez-Robles et al (1999b), Boback et al (2000), Fearn (2002), Boback (2004, 2005), Fredriksson (2005), Pizzatto et al (2009), Reed and Rodda (2009), Barros et al (2011), Headland and Greene (2011), Boback et al (2016), Ribeiro et al (2016), Bartoszek et al (2018), Glaudas et al (2019), Rivas (2020), Natusch et al (2021), Reinert et al (2021), Cundall and Irish (2022), and Pommer-Barbosa et al (2022).…”