IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 26(3):243–244 • JAN 2020

Defensive Behaviors of Copper-headed Trinket Snakes, Coelognathus radiatus (Boie 1827) (Squamata: Colubridae), from the Sakaerat

Biosphere Reserve, ThailandBartosz Nadolski1, Krunal Trivedi2, Khan Ashaharraza3, and Pongthep Suwanwaree4

1School of Biology, Institute of Science, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand 30000 (bartnad@gmail.com)253, Pushpak Housing Society, Palanpur patiya, Surat, Gujarat, India- 395009 (krunal.trivedi.7567@gmail.com)

3Research Administrator, Indian Herpetological Society, Pune, Maharashtra, India- 411009 (elachistodon@hotmail.com)4School of Biology, Institute of Science, Suranaree University of Technology, Thailand 30000 (pongthep@sut.ac.in)

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IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190

The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198

R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S

The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida

.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212

C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T

World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225

H U S B A N D R Y

Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226

P R O F I L E

Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234

C O M M E N T A R Y

The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238

B O O K R E V I E W

Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243

CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.

Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo

estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus

aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque

moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as

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REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y

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Predation pressure is a fundamental selective force for the development of traits that increase prey survival by limit-

ing a predator’s ability to detect, recognize, approach, sub-jugate, or consume prey (Endler 1986; Greene 1988; Lima and Dill 1990). Squamates and snakes in particular exhibit an extremely diverse array of antipredator tactics and serve as interesting models for examining evolutionary mechanisms to avoid predation (Greene 1988). The Copper-headed Trinket Snake, Coelognathus radia-tus (Boie 1827), is a non-venomous colubrid snake found in much of southeastern Asia, with a range extending from India and southern China to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java (Das 2012). Observations of 17 adults were recorded in forested and human-altered habitats during 2015–2018 at the Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand (14.4933°S, 101.9219°W; datum: WGS84). Death-feigning (also known as thanatosis, catalepsy, or tonic immobility) is expressed by maintaining a rigid posture or by simulating fully relaxed muscles (Greene 1988; Vogel and Kam Han-Yuen 2010). Death-feigning has been reported in Coelognathus radiatus (Vogel and Kam Han-Yuen 2010). Herein we describe a broader array of defensive strategies that we have observed in Copper-headed Trinket Snakes. Whenever possible, the first response to a threat by Coelognathus radiatus is a rapid retreat. However, when unable to flee, individuals will expand the neck, exposing the contrast-ing light blue and black coloration of the interscale skin (Fig. 1A). If disturbed further, snakes elevate the anterior part of the body, open the mouth, and frequently feign attacks and bites (Fig. 1B). The latter are fast and energetic, apparently aimed at the face of the perceived threat. We observed one snake strike twice with such force that it lifted its entire body off the

ground. Snakes displaying this behavior will stand their ground and continue to charge until they create enough space to flee. The final defensive display, death-feigning (Fig. 1C), was observed in seven of the 17 individuals, two of which employed thanatosis after initially fleeing. In each instance, the snake rolled over and exposed its venter and relaxed the muscles in most of its body. The noteworthy exception was that snakes did not relax the muscles in the nuchal region. The connection between the skull and the vertebral column is fragile; we surmise that relaxing the muscles in that area could leave the snake vulnerable to injury if attacked by a predator.

AcknowledgmentsThis research was supported by Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) and by the Office of the Higher Education Commission under the NRU Project of Thailand. We also thank the Thailand Institute for Scientific and Technological Research for permission to work in the Sakaerat Environmental Research Station. Our research was carried out under the guidelines and approval of the SUT Animal Use and Ethics committee and the National Research Council of Thailand. We are grateful to S. Waengsothorn, G. Vogel, A. Khaire, S. Patel, and K. Nadolska. C. Radcliff, C.R. Smith, and J. Goodyear assisted in the field.

Literature CitedDas, I. 2012. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Snakes of South-East Asia including

Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Java and Bali. John Beaufoy Publishing, Oxford, UK.

Endler, J.A. 1986. Defense against predation, pp. 109–134. In: M.E. Feder and G.E. Lauder (eds.), Predator-prey Relationships: Perspectives and Approaches from the Study of Lower Vertebrates. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.

Greene, H.W. 1988. Antipredator mechanisms in reptiles, pp. 1–152. In: C. Gans and R.B. Huey (eds.), Biology of the Reptilia. Volume 16, Ecology B. Defense and Life History. Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York, New York.

IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians ISSN 1098-6324

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Lima, S.L. and L.M. Dill. 1990. Behavioral decisions made under the risk of preda-tion: A review and prospectus. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 619–640.

Vogel, G. and H. Kam Han-Yuen. 2010. Death feigning behavior in three colubrid species of tropical Asia. Russian Journal of Herpetology 17: 15–21

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 26(3):243–244 • JAN 2020NADOLSKI ET AL.

Fig. 1. Responses by Copper-headed Trinket Snakes (Coelognathus radiatus) to a threat include in order: Rapid flight; expansion of the neck to expose strongly contrasting skin colors (A); elevating the anterior body, gaping, striking, and biting (B); and death-feigning (C). Photographs by Bartosz Nadolski.