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  Neotropical snakes of the genus Clelia are well-

documented ophiophagus predators (Pinto and Lema,

2002; Campbell and Lamar, 2004). Several researchers

have reported the diets of these serpents, including

various species of highly venomous pitvipers such

as   Bothrops asper (Bogert, 1954),   B. caribbaeus 

(Underwood, 1995), and   B. jararaca (Pinto and

Lema, 2002). Cerdas and Lomonte (1982) examined

the resistance of Clelia clelia to the venom of thirteenspecies of viperid and elapid snakes, reporting no effects

on the former species by their highly toxic venom. In

addition, Lomonte et al. (1990) found that serum from

newborn specimens of C. clelia completely neutralized

Herpetology Notes, volume 2: 21-22 (2009) (published online on 26 February 2009)

Another crotaline prey item of the Neotropical snake Clelia clelia 

(Daudin 1803)

Jesse Delia1*

1 Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville,

 NC 27858, U.S.A.; e-mail: jdelia82@gmail.com

* corresponding author 

Abstract. Report on a predation event by an adult Clelia clelia on a juvenile Porthidium nasutum, observed at a lowland site in

western Ecuador.

Keywords.  Clelia clelia, Porthidium nasutum, ophiophagus predator 

Figure 1. Adult Clelia clelia attacking a juvenile Porthidium nasutum.

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Jesse Delia22

the hemorrhagic effect of  Bothrops asper venom. Such

ndings suggest an adaptive evolutionary relationship

  between members of the genus Clelia and highly

venomous serpents, often considered less attractive prey

items by some members of Neotropical communities.Herein, I report a predation on   Porthidium nasutum by

Clelia clelia. This event was witnessed in a small patch of 

Cacao (Theobroma cacao) amidst Ecuadorian Lowland

Evergreen Forest at the Río Canandé Reserve (00°26’N,

79°08’W; ca. 270 m elevation), province Esmeraldes.

On 22 June 2005 at 20:59h, during the course of a

stream-breeding amphibian project, an adult Clelia

clelia (ca. 123 cm total-length) was found coiled

around a juvenile Porthidium nasutum (ca. 20 cm total-

length) (Fig.1). Closer inspection revealed that the C.clelia had secured a bite hold along the mid-section

of the   P. nasutum. On several occasions, I observed

defensive strikes by   P. nasutum, where it appeared to

have punctured the skin, with no obvious response by C.

clelia. Feeding behavior was similar to that reported by

Pinto and Lema (2002), where the feeding snake moved

its head from the mid-section along the prey’s body

towards the head, only partially releasing the prey while

moving anteriorly, until the head was located and the

 prey was swallowed as a whole (Fig. 2). The juvenile P.nasutumwas still alive after it was swallowed, which was

noted by excessive movement in the stomach region of 

C. clelia. The entire observation occurred over a period

of ca. 3 minutes, after which C. clelia   began moving

through the leaf litter and off into secondary forest.

Acknowledgements

I thank the Jocotoco Foundation for providing me with room

during the course of my senior thesis at Río Canandé; the

Prescott College Student Union for funding materials; Dr.

Jonathan Campbell, Jonathan Whitney, and Diego F. Cisneros-

Heredia for useful comments on early versions of this

manuscript; and Dr. Carl Tomoff for mentoring my senior thesis.

References

Bogert, C.M. (1954): Amphibians and reptiles of the World. In:

The Animal Kingdom, p. 1189-1390. Drimmer, F., Ed., New

York, Greystone Press.

Campbell, J.A., Lamar, W.W. (2004): Venomous reptiles of the

western hemisphere. Ithaca, New York, Cornell University

Press.

Cerdas-Fallas, L., Lomonte-Vigliotti, B. (1982): Estudio de la ca-

 pacidad oófaga y la resistencia de la zopilota (Clelia clelia,

Colubridae) de Costa Rica a los venenos de serpiente. Toxicon

20: 936-939.

Lomonte, B., Cerdas, L., Solorzano, A., Martínez, S. (1990):

The serum of newborn Clelia clelia (Serpentes: Colubridae)

neutralizes the hemorrhagic action of  Bothrops asper venom

(Serpentes: Viperidae). Rev. Biol. Trop. 38: 325-326.

Pinto, C., Lema, T. (2002): Comportamento alimentar e dieta de

serpentes, gêneros  Boiruna e Clelia (Serpentes, Colubridae). 

Iheringia, Sér. Zool. 92: 9-19.Underwood, G. (1995): A tale of old serpents, p. 29. Saint Lucia

 National Trust, Castries, St Lucia, West Indies.

Figure 2. Adult Clelia clelia in the process of swallowing a juvenile Porthidium nasutum.