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DAVOR VRCIBRADIC, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Av.

Pasteur 458, Urca,22240-290, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil (e-mail: davor@centroin.com.br); MAURICIO ALMEIDAGOMES (e-mail: almeida.gomes@yahoo.com.br), CARLA C. SIQUEIRA (email: carlacsiqueira@yahoo.com.br), VITOR N ETSON T. BORGES-JUNIOR (e-mail: borges_bio6ryahoo.com.br), and CARLOS FREDERICO D. ROCHA

HERNANDEZ MALDONADO, lnstituto Tecnol69ico de Cd. Victoria. Bo: =. vard Emil io Portes Gil 1 301 pte. Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, 8701 0 Mexico.

(e-mail: cfdrocha@uerj.br), Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio deJaneiro, Rua 56o Francisco Xavier 524, Maracana,2055001 1, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.

I'AN:ilIEROPIIIS BAIRDI (Baixl's Ratsnake). DIET AND FORAGING BEHAVIOR. A Pantherophis bairdi was found inside a cave (La Sepultura) in the municipality of Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas, M6xico (23.7756667"N, 99.22S8056"W datumWGSB4; elev. 597 m). The snake was found coiled 2 m above the ground along one of the rvalls of the cave attempting to catch bats of the species Leptonycteris curasoae (Fig. l). Other species of bats found and identified in this cave included Desmodus rotundus, Diphylla ecaudata, and Pteronotus parnelli. Previous reports mention that P. bairdi preys on rats, mice, bats, birds, bird eggs, and lizards, without reference to specific species or families of each group (Schulz 1996. A Monograph of the Colubrid Snakes of the Genus Elaphe Fitzinger. Koeltz Scientific Books, Czech Republic. 439 pp.). Schulz (1996, op. cit.) mentions that caves are inhabited by several species of rat snakes at least temporarily. For example, Pantherophis guttata, P obsoleta, and Senticolis triaspis were recorded from caves occupied by bats, which served as prey. Moreover, the only known P bairdi record in this municipality was published in 2009, but referred to a specimen found byT. W. Walker in 1969 (Farr et al. 2009. Herpetol. Rev. 40:459-467). Thus, this record represents the second municipality record in a span of over 40 years. The snake and bats were not caught or collected and were identified photographically and with the help of Luis Canseco-Mdrquez and Arnulfo Moreno-Valdez, respectively. We also thank David Lazcano-Villarreal for revising the manuscript. ELi GARCIA-PADILLA, Centro de lnvestigaciones Biol69icas del
Noroeste, Mar Bermejo 195, Colonia Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23090 M6xico (e-mail: eligarcia_l8@hotmail.com); .IOSE lVAfrt CUMPIAN-MEDELLIN, NOE FELIPE VARGAS GONZALEZ, ANd AARON

PANIIIEROPHIS SP/IOIDES (Gray llatsnake). REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR / ARBOREAL MALE COMBAT. The goal of ma_. combat in snakes is to establish dominance over an oppone:: through physical superiority (Gillingham 1987. In Seigel ei ' leds.l, Snakes: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, pp. 184-2t: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co., NewYork). Male ratsnakes compe:. for mates by participating in dominance "combat dances" (Rr:ley 1971. I. Herpetol. 5:65-66; Stickel et al. 1980. Amer. Midl. \a: 103:l-14); although the role of this behavior is not fully unde:stood (Rigley, op. cit.). The arboreal habits of species in the Partherophis obsoleta complex are also well documented (Ernst an : Ernst 2003. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithso:_ian Institution Press., Washington, D.C., 68l pp.), and arbore: mating has been noted in P o. obsoleta (Padgett 1987. Catesbe-ana 7:27-28), but to our knowledge, arboreal male combat ha: not been reported. On 24 May 2006 at 1200 h, we observed a pair of free-rangir:. male Pantherophis spiloides engaged in arboreal combat on ri:. Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Forrest Co., Missi.sippi, USA. The snakes were found entwined approximately 5 r:above ground, hanging from a broken limb in a Quercus mar:landica (Fig. l). The smaller male (SVL = l4l cm, 612 g) conrirued to break contact and move up the tree, and was followed b'.

r;l

Dl

ki

l. Pantherophis bairdi atlempting to carch Leptonycteris curasoae in the cave La Sepultura, Tamaulipas, M6xico.
Ftc.

Frc. l. TWo adult male Pantherophis spiloides engaged in arboreal combat in Forrest Co., Mississippi, USA.

The Official News-Journal of the

SOCIETY FOR THE STTJDY OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES

BUS|NESS. MEET|NGS......... NEW5NOTES..... CURRENT RESEARCH................... zoovlEw......... tNsTtruTloNAL PROFI1E............... HERPETOCULTURAL NOTES GEOGRAPHTC DISTRIBUTION .. NATURAL HTSTORY NOTES.......... PUBLTCATTONS RECE|VED..........
ssAR ARTICLES

................... 129 .................... r30 .................... 131 ................... r32 .................... 136 ................. 150 ...........................232 ....................... 235
................... 258

AMPHIBIAN DISEASES Chltrid in a Canopy Amphibian: Picado's Bromeliad Treefrog, Isthmohyla picadoi (Hylidae), Persists at a Site Affected by B atr acho chy tr i um de ndr ob ati d is E. D. LINDQUISI M. J. SHIN. J. O. COSSEL JR., A. M. M. STUCKERI
M. C. BLETZ, and N. C.

TRIMMER..

............... 205

Prevalence and Distribution of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis at Montane Sites in CentralWashington State, USA
C. A. GAULKE, J. T. lRWlN,

and

R. S. WAGNER

....

..................... 209

First Detection of Ranavirus in Lithobates pipiens in Quebec


L. J. PAETOW B. D. PAULI, J. D. McLAUGHLIN, J. BIDULKA,

.....................316

and

D. J.

MARCOGLIESE................
CHAMBERS...................

.................. 21

Ecological Consequences of Continual Volcanic Activity on the Lizard, Anolis liuidus, from Montserrat
wt. M. MUNOZ and J.

Occurrence of Batrachochytrium derulrobalirlls in Amphibians ofWise County, Virginia, USA


............... 160
S.

HEWLETT....

A. DAVIDSON and D. L.

................214

Slevin's Bunchgrass Lizard (Sceloporus sleuinl) Population

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Siren intermediain Illinois, USA


B. L.TALLEY, K. R. LIPS, and S.

Barely Extant on the Sonoita Plain, Arizona


C. A. D'ORGEIX,T. MATHIES, and N. D.

R.BALLARD...

.........................216

BRIDGERS.. DAY

................. I66

Using Scrape Fishing to Document Terrapins in Hibernacula in Chesapeake Bay G. M. HARAMIS, P. P. F. HENRY and D. D. ........................ 170
A Large-Scale Snake

Low Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidisDetected in Appalachian Salamanders from Warren Counry Virginia, USA
B. GRATWICKE, M. EVANs, E. H. CAMPBELL

GRANI

J. GREATHOUSE,

W. J. McSHEA, N. ROTZEL, and R. C.

FLEISCHER.

....................217

Mortality Event
lll, and A.
J.

J. EVANS, J. WEWERKA, E. M. EVERHAM

WOH1PART..........................177

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis on the Endemic Frog Litoria ranifurmrs in South Australia


J.

VoRoS, L. PR|CE, and

S. C.

DONNELLAN...
P.

.........................220

TECHNIQUES

Ranavirus Outbreaks in Amphibian Populations of Northern Idaho


D. M. RUSSELL, C. S. GOLDBERG, L. SPRAGUE, L. SCHULER, and E. B. WAITS, D. E. GREEN, K. L.

Using a Portable Reader for Non-invasive Detection of PIT-tagged Skinks IInder Coverboards
C. N. CAVALIERI, D.T. LYNCH, and S. F.

ROSENBLUM

....................223

FOX............

................

lBl
HERPETOCULTURE

A New Rapid Assessment Technique for Amphibians: Introduction of the Species List Technique from San los6 de Payamino, Ecuador .................. I84 A. P. MUIR and M. C. A.

Effects of Captivity on Female Reproductive Cycles and Egg Incubation in Ball Pythons (Python regius)
B. H. MORRILL, L. F. RICKORDS, C. SUTHERLAND, and J. G. JULANDER ...............226

MU|R....

Method for External Transmitter Attachment on Aquatic Snakes


A Taping
G. D. WYLIE, J. J. SMITH, M. AMARELLO and M. L. CASSAZZA.......................... 187

BOOK REVIEWS

Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium and Analysis


Reviewed by
R, N.

REED....

..........................306

Shell Hardness Measurement in Juvenile Desert Tortoises, Gopherus agassizii K. A. NAGV M. W.TUMA, and L. S. ...................... 191

The Amphibians and Reptiles of Ethiopia and Eritrea


Reviewed by H.

MULLER...

..........................309

HILLARD.....

CONSERVATION

Stolen World: A Tale of Reptiles, Smugglers, and Skullduggery Reviewed by B. l. CHAMBERS..................... .......................... 311

Rediscovery of Abroniafrosti (Sauria: Anguidae) from a Cloud Forest in Cuchumatanes Highlands in Northwestern Guatemala: Habitat Characterization and Conservation Status
D. ARIANO-5ANCHEZ, M.TORRES-ALMAZAN, ANd A. URBINA-AGUILAR .......

ofthe Snake Charmer: Snakes in the 21st Century ReviewedbyO.S.G.PAUWE1SandP.J.R.KOK.............................................313


Secrets

I96
Lizards in an EvolutionaryTree: Ecology and Adaptive Radiation

Prime Time for Turtle Conservation


A. R. KIESTER and D. H. OLSON... 198

ofAnoles
Reviewed by D.

PINCHEIRA-DONOSO.........

..........................3I4

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