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28 October 2021 Food Habits of the Javelin Sand Boa Eryx jaculus (Linnaeus 1758; Serpentes, Erycidae) in Sicily, Italy
Francesco Paolo Faraone, Salvatore Russotto, Gabriele Giacalone, Mario Lo Valvo, Irene Belardi, Emiliano Mori
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Abstract

The Javelin Sand Boa, Eryx jaculus, is reported to be a predator of mammals, lizards and their eggs, and occasionally of birds and invertebrates, but data on its diet are scarce and fragmentary. Here we describe some aspects of the feeding behavior of E. jaculus on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. A total of 132 individual snakes were examined. Prey remains were found in 43% of them, both in their feces (82.5%) and gut contents (17.5%). The number of snakes observed and their feeding rate decreased in August, probably as a result of the relatively higher temperatures. Feeding rate increases were observed in adult females in September, perhaps to enhance body reserves before hibernation. The overall prey spectrum is dominated by small mammals, with a frequency of occurrence of 71.4%, but also consisted of lizard eggs (30.2%) and lizards (7.9%). Lizards seem to be occasional prey, and our frequent detection of ingested autotomized tails suggests E. jaculus has low efficiency as a saurian predator. We observed a relationship between prey type and snout–vent length of the snakes. Lizard eggs are most frequently eaten by smaller snakes, which could be linked to gape size ontogenetic variation. We found differences in the prey spectrum between sexes and age classes. Our results indicate that juveniles, adult males, and females seem to adopt different foraging strategies. Females probably adopt ambush predation on small mammals, while juveniles are active foragers of lizard eggs. Adult males appear to be slightly more versatile predators, consuming both types of prey, probably because of their high mobility rates during the mating period.

Copyright 2021 Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
Francesco Paolo Faraone, Salvatore Russotto, Gabriele Giacalone, Mario Lo Valvo, Irene Belardi, and Emiliano Mori "Food Habits of the Javelin Sand Boa Eryx jaculus (Linnaeus 1758; Serpentes, Erycidae) in Sicily, Italy," Journal of Herpetology 55(4), 452-458, (28 October 2021). https://doi.org/10.1670/20-047
Accepted: 14 June 2021; Published: 28 October 2021
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