Abstract
We analyzed reproductive biology of Erythrolamprus jaegeri coralliventris, a snake from the Brazilian Pampa. Females presented larger snout-vent length than males, while no significant differences were found in tail length/snout-vent length ratios between sexes. Females attain sexual maturity in larger sizes than males. The reproductive cycle of females presented a seasonal pattern, with advanced vitellogenesis occurring from middle winter to middle spring and oviductal eggs occurring from middle winter to middle summer. The real fecundity ranged from two to eigth eggs and the expected fecundity varied from one to 12 secondary follicles. No significant correlation was found between females body size and the following parameters: real fecundity, length of the largest egg and potential fecundity. Therefore, E. j. coralliventris presents a seasonal reproductive pattern, which seems to follow the rainfall profile observed for the studied region. This may represent a strategy of energy gain associated to the reproductive cycle, considering that the food resources most explored by this species are anurans that present higher activity during rainy periods.
Highlights
Erythrolamprus Boie 1826 sensu lato is one of the most diverse genera of Neotropical dipsadids, comprising 50 species of small to mediumsized oviparous snakes, widely distributed in Central and South America, as well as the Antilles archipelago (Dixon 1989, Lema 2002, Uetz & Hošek 2018)
Reproductive cycle in females, fecundity and size at sexual maturity
Our results indicated that E. j. coralliventris females attained larger body size (SVL) than males, corroborating data from E. j. jaegeri
Summary
Erythrolamprus Boie 1826 sensu lato is one of the most diverse genera of Neotropical dipsadids, comprising 50 species of small to mediumsized oviparous snakes, widely distributed in Central and South America, as well as the Antilles archipelago (Dixon 1989, Lema 2002, Uetz & Hošek 2018). In the coastal region of southern Brazil, E. jaegeri is the one of the most abundant snake species (Quintela & Loebmann 2009). Erythrolamprus jaegeri coralliventris is the southernmost distributed subpecies, ranging from Paraguay to Argentina (Giraudo 2001, Uetz & Hošek 2018). Erythrolamprus jaegeri coralliventris inhabits mainly open areas near to water bodies (Quintela & Loebmann 2009) and feeds preferentially on small anurans, it may occasionally preys on fish, small lizards and insects (Carreira-Vidal 2002, Corrêa et al 2016)
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