Trophic Ecology of Lapemis curtus (Hydrophiinae) along the Western Coast of India

Abstract

Stomach contents were obtained from 165 individuals of Lapemis curtus. Food was present in 90% of the stomachs, but only on 59 occasions prey could be identified to family level. Five fish families constituted the diet of L. curtus of which, Clupeidae and Cynoglossidae dominate. There was no significant difference in the proportion of the fish families represented in the diet with the size or sex of the snakes. There was variation in this proportion with the time of the day. The proportion of Cynoglossidae in the diet showed marked difference with time of the day. The study found no geographic variation in the feeding ecology of L. curtus in this region when compared to similar studies elsewhere. This species is a generalist in its feeding habits since it feeds on fish that inhabit different depths in the water column. These results suggest that L. curtus may be an ambush forager. During the trawls, the fish families that constituted 95% of the sea snakes diet were also being harvested.