Meeting Abstract

100-6   11:15 - 11:30  Feeding Behavior and Prey Selection of a Small Fossorial Snake, Tantilla gracilis Gripshover, ND*; Watson, CM; Meik, JM; McBrayer, LD; Cox, CL; Florida International University, Miami, FL ; Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX; Tarleton State University, Stephenville, TX; Georiga Southern University, Statesboro, GA; Florida International University, Miami, FL ngripshover@gmail.com

Feeding is a complex process that involves an integrated response of multiple functional systems. Some animals are ‘specialists’ with behaviors or morphologies adapted for the consumption of dangerous and well-defended food items. However, observing how animals capture and consume such dangerous food items is often challenging. We studied feeding behavior in the snake genus Tantilla, a diverse group of 69 species of small fossorial snakes that feed on dangerous prey such as centipedes. Although there has been some work on the diet of Tantilla snakes, no study has described in detail how these snakes capture and subdue dangerous prey. In the lab, we offered Tantilla gracilis a variety of potential prey including scorpions, centipedes, spiders, beetle larvae, and crickets. Of the captured T. gracilis (N=7), four snakes showed interest in multiple prey types and three snakes consumed prey. Despite offering each type of prey to each snake two or more times, snakes struck (N=1) or consumed (N=4) only centipedes. During feeding, snakes (N=3) used prey restraint, i.e. pushing prey into the substrate or against the lateral sides of their bodies. Prior to completion of swallowing or immediately after a successful strike, snakes held onto centipedes for 6–65 percent of the handling time, suggesting envenomation from the enlarged rear maxillary teeth. During feeding, the centipedes repeatedly pinched the neck and jaws of snakes with chelicerae, prompting body restraint behaviors. In one trial, the snake released the centipede. Our results strongly suggest that prey restraint and (likely) envenomation are important for subduing dangerous prey, which may incur a substantial cost in terms of injuries or success rates.