Diet of Crotalus lepidus klauberi (Banded Rock Rattlesnake)

We describe the diet of Crotalus lepidus klauberi (Banded Rock Rattlesnake) using samples collected in the field and from museum specimens, as well as several records from unpublished reports. Most records (approximately 91%) were from the northern Sierra Madrean Archipelago. Diet consisted of 55.4%...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of herpetology 2002-12, Vol.36 (4), p.589-597
Main Authors: Holycross, Andrew T, Painter, Charles W, Prival, David B, Swann, Don E, Schroff, Michael J, Edwards, Taylor, Schwalbe, Cecil R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amphibians
Birds
CONTENTS
Diet
Ecology
Herpetology
Lizards
Mammals
Predators
Reptiles
Snakes
Specimens
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Summary:We describe the diet of Crotalus lepidus klauberi (Banded Rock Rattlesnake) using samples collected in the field and from museum specimens, as well as several records from unpublished reports. Most records (approximately 91%) were from the northern Sierra Madrean Archipelago. Diet consisted of 55.4% lizards, 28.3% scolopendromorph centipedes, 13.8% mammals, 1.9% birds, and 0.6% snakes. Sceloporus spp. comprised 92.4% of lizards. Extrapolation suggests that Sceloporus jarrovii represents 82.3% of lizard records. Diet was independent of geographic distribution (mountain range), sex, source of sample (stomach vs. intestine/feces), and age class. However, predator snout–vent length differed significantly among prey types; snakes that ate birds were longest, followed in turn by those that ate mammals, lizards, and centipedes. Collection date also differed significantly among prey classes; the mean date for centipede records was later than the mean date for squamate, bird, or mammal records. We found no difference in the elevation of collection sites among prey classes.
ISSN:0022-1511
1937-2418
DOI:10.1670/0022-1511(2002)036[0589:DOCLKB]2.0.CO;2