Natural History of Pseudoboine Snakes

Abstract

Even though natural history information is crucial for answering key ecological, evolutionary, and conservation questions, basic studies are still lacking for Neotropical snakes. This study aims at contributing to the knowledge of the Neotropical tribe Pseudoboini, based on literature data, analysis of museum specimens and unpublished data. The tribe is mainly composed of moderate-sized snakes, although small and large-sized snakes also occur in the clade. Mean fecundity ranged from two (Rodriguesophis iglesiasi) to 29 eggs (Clelia plumbea) and the species are predominantly terrestrial and nocturnal. Most species are diet specialists and lizards are the most commonly consumed prey (found in the diet of 29 species), followed by small mammals (consumed by 20 species) and snakes (consumed by 18 species). Although the tribe Pseudoboini appears to be well studied, for 15 species (32%) only a small amount of information or none was available. We hope that our study can motivate research on the least known species.