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Opportunistic Feeding Behaviour of Xylophis perroteti in Emerald Valley, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India


Affiliations
1 Herpetology Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College, Udhagamandalam 643 002, India
 

Among Indian snakes, ophiophagy behaviour is found in the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) which regularly feeds on other snakes, and this has also been recorded in many other species like Bungarus fasciatus, Bungarus caeruleus and Calliophis nigrescens. This note documents predation by the Striped narrow-headed snake, Xylophis perroteti on Perrotet's shieldtail snake, Plectrurus perrotetii. Both are endemic species and common in the Nilgiris.
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  • Vijayaraghavan, B., 400 Questions Answered about Snakes, with Special Reference to Snakes in India, Chennai Snake Park Trust, Chennai, 2010, p. 230.

  • Smith, M. A., The Fauna of British India. Reptiles and Amphibia Vol. III. Serpentes, Taylor and Francis, London, 1943, p. 583.

  • Whitaker, R. and Captain, A., Snakes of India: The Field Guide, Draco Books, Chennai, 2004, p. 481.

  • Wall, F., J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 1919, 26, 552–584.

  • Santhoshkumar, P. and Kannan, P., Curr. Sci., 2016, 110(10), 1901–1903.


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  • Opportunistic Feeding Behaviour of Xylophis perroteti in Emerald Valley, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract Views: 307  |  PDF Views: 83

Authors

P. Santhoshkumar
Herpetology Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College, Udhagamandalam 643 002, India
P. Kannan
Herpetology Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, Government Arts College, Udhagamandalam 643 002, India

Abstract


Among Indian snakes, ophiophagy behaviour is found in the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) which regularly feeds on other snakes, and this has also been recorded in many other species like Bungarus fasciatus, Bungarus caeruleus and Calliophis nigrescens. This note documents predation by the Striped narrow-headed snake, Xylophis perroteti on Perrotet's shieldtail snake, Plectrurus perrotetii. Both are endemic species and common in the Nilgiris.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv112%2Fi06%2F1081-1082