Diet Specialization by the Scarlet Kingsnake, Lampropeltis elapsoides (Colubridae)

Authors

  • Harry W. Greene Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University
  • Edmund J. Zimmerer Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University
  • William M. Palmer North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
  • Michael F. Benard Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v17i1.16057

Abstract

Based on 34 natural prey items, Lampropeltis elapsoides eats primarily elongate squamates (97%), especially skinks (74%) and colubroid snakes (15%). N o ontogenetic or geographic variation is evident; prey items are swallowed headfirst and average 19% of predator mass. The diet substantially overlaps that of juveniles of some other lampropeltines, including sympatric L. triangulum, but is unusually narrow compared to adults of most other species.

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Fitch's Anole (Anolis fitchi); Photograph by Thomas Kennedy

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Published

2010-03-01

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2010): Reptiles & Amphibians

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

How to Cite

Greene, H. W., Zimmerer, E. J. ., Palmer, W. M., & Benard, M. F. . (2010). Diet Specialization by the Scarlet Kingsnake, Lampropeltis elapsoides (Colubridae). Reptiles & Amphibians, 17(1), 18-22. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v17i1.16057