Abstract
Abstract Ontogenetic shifts in diet are common for snakes, and such shifts in diet for venomous snakes may be associated with changes in venom composition. The present study investigated whether an ontogenetic shift in diet and venom composition, as observed for Crotalus oreganus helleri and Crotalus oreganus oreganus, occurs in Crotalus oreganus concolor. Like C. o. helleri and C. o. oreganus, and at similar body sizes, C. o. concolor show an ontogenetic shift in diet. Juvenile snakes primarily feed on small lizards, whereas adults typically consume small rodents. However, C. o. concolor do not show the same pattern of venom ontogeny as do C. o. helleri and C. o. oreganus. Because of the presence of a phospholipase A2-based β-neurotoxin (concolor toxin) and several myotoxins, C. o. concolor venom is particularly toxic, but mouse LD50 assays demonstrated no significant difference in toxicity between adult (0.38 μg/g) and juvenile (0.45 μg/g) venoms. Metalloprotease activity (correlated with extensive tiss...
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