Temporal activity and dietary selection in two coexisting desert snakes, the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the crowned leafnose (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Sivan, Jaim; Kam, Michael; Hadad, Shlomo; Degen, A. Allan; Rozenboim, Israel; Rosenstrauch, Avi

doi:10.1016/j.zool.2012.09.002

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While both snake species consume lizards as their primary dietary items (Sivan et al, 2013), C. vipera was heavier than L. diadema for a similar SVL, which supported our prediction that a sit-andwait ambusher would be heavier per SVL than an active hunter. For C. vipera, quick striking power is necessary but not fast locomotion.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Sex determination in L. diadema is difficult, even among mature adults. We could not determine sex for all neonates, most juveniles and some adults (Sivan et al, 2013).…”

Section: Capture and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…vipera and L. diadema are well-adapted to desert sand dunes (Leviton and Anderson, 1970;Wagner and Wilms, 2010) and, in Israel, coexist in the western Negev Desert. The two species have several characteristics in common: they (1) are psammophilic (sand-dwelling); (2) are active under the same climatic conditions (Goldreich, 2003); (3) are mainly nocturnal (Sivan et al, 2013); (4) subsist primarily on lizards (Amr and Disi, 2011;Sivan et al, 2013); (5) are relatively small e less than 50 cm (Arbel, 1984;Bouskila and Amitai, 2001); and (6) hibernate between autumn (~November) and spring (~March). However, they differ in that: (1) C. vipera moves by sidewinding (Subach et al, 2009) while L. diadema uses serpentine movement (Amr and Disi, 2011); (2) C. vipera is a sitand-wait ambusher (Heatwole and Davidson, 1976) while L. diadema is an active hunter (Bar and Haimovitch, 2011); (3) C. vipera is ovoviparous while L. diadema is oviparous; (4) C. vipera is venomous while L. diadema is nonvenomous; and (5) C. vipera mate in early spring while L. diadema mate in late spring/early summer (Sivan et al, 2012(Sivan et al, , 2013.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Body size and seasonal body condition in two small coexisting desert snake species, the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the crowned leafnose (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Sivan

Kam

Hadad

et al. 2015

Journal of Arid Environments

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Sex determination in L. diadema is difficult, even among mature adults. We could not determine sex for all neonates, most juveniles and some adults (Sivan et al, 2013).…”

Section: Capture and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Body size and seasonal body condition in two small coexisting desert snake species, the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the crowned leafnose (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Sivan

Kam

Hadad

et al. 2015

Journal of Arid Environments

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…It also occurs allopathically in other deserts and along the Mediterranean coast of Israel 51 . This colubrid species is active from April to October and is not active in winter 52 . It is a nocturnal hunter consuming primarily small lizards and lizard eggs 52 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This colubrid species is active from April to October and is not active in winter 52 . It is a nocturnal hunter consuming primarily small lizards and lizard eggs 52 . Mating occurs in April -May 53 when "mating balls" are formed.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative tail length correlates with body condition in male but not in female crowned leafnose snakes (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Sivan

Hadad²,

Tesler³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reproductive success is the ultimate measure of individual quality; however, it is difficult to determine in free-living animals. therefore, indirect measures that are related to reproduction are generally employed. in snakes, males typically possess longer tails than females and this sexual size dimorphism in tail length (tL) has generally been attributed to the importance of the tail in mating and reproduction. Thus, intra-sexual differences in tail length, specifically within males, were hypothesized to reflect individual quality. We used a body condition index (BCI) as a measure of quality in snakes and predicted that tail length would be correlated with BCI in males. We tested our prediction by determining BCI in the free-ranging adult male and female crowned leafnose snake (Lytorhynchus diadema), a colubrid species that inhabits mainly desert sand dunes. the relative tL was correlated positively and significantly to BCI in males (F 1,131 = 11.05; r 2 adj = 0.07; P < 0.01) but not in females, thus supporting our prediction. This is the first time that the relationship between TL and body condition was tested in a free-ranging species. In addition, sexual size dimorphism of TL increased intra-specifically with body size, which was also found in interspecific analyses following Rensch's rule. Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) occurs in many species of invertebrate and vertebrate taxa 1,2. In general, males are larger than females in bird and mammal species 3,4 , whereas females are larger than males in terrestrial vertebrate ectotherms 5,6. According to Rensch's rule, when males are the larger sex, SSD increases with size; 1,4 however, when females are the larger sex, SSD decreases with size 1,7. Although these trends seem contradictory, they both reflect greater variance in males than in females 8. A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain these evolutionary interspecific trends including sexual selection and mating success, fecundity selection favoring large females, and natural selection for resource partitioning 8-11. Sexual size dimorphism has also been observed in lengths of appendages such as in tails. In most snake species, males have relatively longer tails than females. The reason for this difference between sexes was initially explained structurally, as males possess a hemipenis in an elongated pocket at the base of the tail 12,13. Several hypotheses for the evolution of sexual differences in tail length (TL) have been suggested. Interspecific analyses of tail and body lengths, as well as clutch mass in colubrid snakes, supported both the morphological constraint hypothesis and the female reproductive hypothesis. Consequently, these analyses indicated a male-biased TL dimorphism in taxa having relatively short tails 14. In addition, the TL was found to be associated with gravitational habitat categories, where terrestrial snake species have shorter tails than arboreal species. This hypothesis was supported in females using 226 snake species in 139 genera and 15 families 15. Tails of snakes are...

show abstract

Tracking spoor and field signs as a zoological research method

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Temporal activity and dietary selection in two coexisting desert snakes, the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the crowned leafnose (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Body size and seasonal body condition in two small coexisting desert snake species, the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the crowned leafnose (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Body size and seasonal body condition in two small coexisting desert snake species, the Saharan sand viper (Cerastes vipera) and the crowned leafnose (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Relative tail length correlates with body condition in male but not in female crowned leafnose snakes (Lytorhynchus diadema)

Tracking spoor and field signs as a zoological research method

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About