Primer registro de agrupamientos de ejemplares en Epictia albipuncta (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae)

María Paula Cabrera; Juan Carlos Stazzonelli; Gustavo José Scrocchi

doi:10.30550/j.azl/1834

Authors

María Paula Cabrera Instituto de Vertebrados, Sección Herpetología, Fundación Miguel Lillo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3847-9876
Juan Carlos Stazzonelli Instituto de Vertebrados, Sección Herpetología, Fundación Miguel Lillo https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4718-5850
Gustavo José Scrocchi Instituto de Vertebrados, Sección Herpetología, Fundación Miguel Lillo https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8924-8808

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30550/j.azl/1834

Keywords:

Scolecophidea, aggregations, fossorial, reproduction, climatic protection

Abstract

Snakes are usually are solitary animals, although there are reports that several species aggregate for different reasons, like reproduction, climatic protection, or even social. Among the snakes, the behaviour of the Scolecophidia is poorly known, mainly because of their fossorial habits and small size. Aggregations in this family were reported for a few species of some genera. In this work we present for the first time, data on aggregations in Epictia albipuncta, formed by several females and several males; two of the three aggregations were found by the end of the winter season, so
it seems that they would be related to climatic issues rather than to reproduction.
In any case, the information is scarce to fully explain the observations.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Aleksiuk, M, Stewart, K. W. (1971). Seasonal changes in the body composition of the Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) at Northern lattitudes. Ecology, 52, 485-490. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1937631

Banci, K. R., Batista, S. F., Marques, O. A. V. (2021). Philodryas olfersii Lichtensteins’ Green Racer). Reproductive aggregation. Herpetological Review, 52, 881.

Bertona, M., Chiaraviglio, M. (2003). Reproductive biology, mating aggregations, and sexual dimorphism of the Argentine Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor occidentalis). Journal of Herpetology, 37, 510-516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1670/122-02A

Carpenter, C. (1953). A study of hibernacula and hibernating associations of snakes and amphibians in Michigan. Ecology, 34, 74-80. https://doi.org/10.2307/1930310 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1930310

Hoser, R. T. (1980). Further records of aggregations of various species of australian snakes. Herpetofauna, 12, 16-22.

Kretzschmar, S., Scrocchi, G. (2020). Epictia albipuncta. Viborita ciega. Universo Tucumano. Cómo, cuándo y dónde de la naturaleza tucumana, contada por los Lilloanos 60: 1-12. Fundación Miguel Lillo – UEL CONICET. Tucumán, Argentina.

Larsen, K. W., Gregory P. T., Antoniak, R. (1993). Reproductive ecology of the common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis at the northern limit of its range. The American Midland Naturalist Journal, 129, 336-345. https://doi.org/10.2307/2426514 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2426514

Luiselli, L. (1996). Individual success in mating balls of the grass snake, Natrix natrix: size is important. Journal of Zoology, 239, 731-740. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-998.1996.tb05474.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1996.tb05474.x

Mc Coy, C. J. (1960). An unusually large aggregation of Leptotyphlops. Copeia, 1960, 368. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1439779

Rivas, J., Muñoz, M., Burghardt, G., Thorbjarnarson, J. (2007). Mating system and sexual size dimorphism of green anaconda (Eunectes murinus). pp. 129-138 En Henderson, R. W., Powell, R. Biology of the Boas and Pythons. Eagle Mountain Publishing, LC, Eagle Mountain, Utah. x + 438 pp.

Shine, R. y Webb, J. T. (1990). Natural History of Australian Typhlopid Snakes. Journal of Herpetology, 24, 357-363. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1565050

Shine, R., Langkilde, T., Mason, R. T. (2003). Confusion within ‘mating balls’ of garter snakes: does misdirected courtship impose selection on male tactics? Animal Behaviour, 66, 1011-1017. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2003.2301 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2003.2301

Skinner, M. y N. Miller. 2020. Aggregation and social interaction in garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 74, 51 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-020-2827-0