{"id":62284,"date":"2021-04-08T14:38:09","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T18:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/?post_type=news&p=62284"},"modified":"2021-04-08T14:50:41","modified_gmt":"2021-04-08T18:50:41","slug":"short-but-sweet-report-sites-new-predator-of-green-salamanders","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/news\/short-but-sweet-report-sites-new-predator-of-green-salamanders\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Short but sweet\u2019 report sites new predator of Green Salamanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"EasternEastern ratsnake (Panterophis alleghaniensis<\/em>). Photo: Jeff Beane\/NCMNS.<\/span><\/p>\n

A recent discovery published in\u00a0Herpetological Review\u00a0may be short, but as co-author Jeff Beane points out, it\u2019s still very important. Why? \u201cBecause it documents a couple of unusual things,\u201d says Beane, the Museum\u2019s Collections Manager for Herpetology.<\/p>\n

\n\"Green<\/p>\n

Green salamander (Aneides aeneus<\/em>). Photo: Jeff Beane\/NCMNS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

New Predator of Green Salamanders<\/h3>\n

Few predators have been reported for\u00a0green salamanders\u00a0(Aneides aeneus<\/em>), and Beane believes none have been previously reported in North Carolina, where they are listed as a Threatened species. One recent report named the\u00a0ring-necked snake\u00a0and\u00a0common garter snake\u00a0as known predators\u00a0outside\u00a0of North Carolina. Another report listed more than 150 occurrences of at least a dozen species of\u00a0potential\u00a0predators of either adult\u00a0Aneides\u00a0or their eggs during surveys of rock outcrops in North Carolina, but predation was not directly observed.<\/p>\n

On June 14, 2019, while monitoring a granitic outcrop known to be used as a breeding site by\u00a0green salamanders, one female was found ovipositing (laying eggs) in a rock crevice. Two additional crevices on another portion of the same outcrop contained two gravid (egg-laden) female\u00a0green salamanders each. When the site was checked again on June 16, 2019, the single female was attending her egg clutch, but of the two crevices containing salamanders two days prior, one was vacant, and one contained a juvenile female Eastern\u00a0ratsnake\u00a0(Pantherophis alleghaniensis<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\"Eastern<\/div>\n

Right: Eastern ratsnake and stomach contents consisting of two gravid female green salamanders, collected in Henderson County, North Carolina, USA. Photo: Jeff Beane\/NCMNS.<\/p>\n

First Record of Ratsnake Predation of Salamanders<\/h3>\n

The snake was collected, euthanized, and later dissected to reveal it had consumed two gravid female\u00a0green salamanders. To our knowledge, this is the first documented record of predation on\u00a0green salamanders\u00a0by an Eastern\u00a0ratsnake. Moreover, while\u00a0ratsnakes\u00a0are known to feed on a variety of anuran species (frogs and treefrogs), this appears to be the first published record of a\u00a0Pantherophis<\/em>\u00a0feeding on any salamander species.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is surprising considering the abundance and wide distribution of ratsnakes, and all the dietary and other natural history info published on them,\u201d notes Beane.<\/p>\n

The specimens were collected under permit and are deposited in the herpetology collection of the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences.<\/p>\n

\n

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