Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae)
The Tehuantepec Isthmus rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus ehecatl</i>) is a poorly known species endemic to Mexico. We describe its diet, morphological variation, life history traits and activity patterns based on data from field encounters, museum specimens, and published data. Its diet consists...
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| author | Rubén Alonso Carbajal-Márquez José Jesús Sigala-Rodríguez Jorge Arturo Hidalgo-García Juan José Ayala-Rodríguez José Rogelio Cedeño-Vázquez |
| author_facet | Rubén Alonso Carbajal-Márquez José Jesús Sigala-Rodríguez Jorge Arturo Hidalgo-García Juan José Ayala-Rodríguez José Rogelio Cedeño-Vázquez |
| author_sort | Rubén Alonso Carbajal-Márquez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Tehuantepec Isthmus rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus ehecatl</i>) is a poorly known species endemic to Mexico. We describe its diet, morphological variation, life history traits and activity patterns based on data from field encounters, museum specimens, and published data. Its diet consists almost exclusively of mammals, with no detected ontogenetic shift or sexual differences in prey type, and with feeding happening mainly in the rainy season. As the first detailed study on the feeding ecology of <i>C. ehecatl</i>, it adds six new prey species and suggests a homogeneous diet among age classes and sexes, but not among seasons. <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> does not present sexual dimorphism in snout-vent length, head length or total length, but males have significantly longer tails than females, possess fewer ventral scales, more subcaudal and anterior intersupraocular scales. <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> showed a unimodal activity pattern with peak activity in the summer, with crepuscular and nocturnal activity during the warmer months, and diurnal activity during the cooler months. The timing of <i>C. ehecatl</i> reproductive events, is similar to other rattlesnakes from temperate and tropical zones. Additional studies on this and related species would help to understand how the ecology of Neotropical rattlesnakes differs from rattlesnakes of more temperate zones. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:56:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-31e34e4c722b4284a7184ca676e5140d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:56:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-31e34e4c722b4284a7184ca676e5140d2023-12-01T01:36:03ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182022-03-0114424210.3390/d14040242Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae)Rubén Alonso Carbajal-Márquez0José Jesús Sigala-Rodríguez1Jorge Arturo Hidalgo-García2Juan José Ayala-Rodríguez3José Rogelio Cedeño-Vázquez4Colección Zoológica, Departamento de Biología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 20100, MexicoColección Zoológica, Departamento de Biología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 20100, MexicoRancho El Chumish, Las Margaritas 30187, MexicoColección Zoológica, Departamento de Biología, Centro de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 20100, MexicoDepartamento de Sistemática y Ecología Acuática, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumal, Chetumal 77014, MexicoThe Tehuantepec Isthmus rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus ehecatl</i>) is a poorly known species endemic to Mexico. We describe its diet, morphological variation, life history traits and activity patterns based on data from field encounters, museum specimens, and published data. Its diet consists almost exclusively of mammals, with no detected ontogenetic shift or sexual differences in prey type, and with feeding happening mainly in the rainy season. As the first detailed study on the feeding ecology of <i>C. ehecatl</i>, it adds six new prey species and suggests a homogeneous diet among age classes and sexes, but not among seasons. <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> does not present sexual dimorphism in snout-vent length, head length or total length, but males have significantly longer tails than females, possess fewer ventral scales, more subcaudal and anterior intersupraocular scales. <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> showed a unimodal activity pattern with peak activity in the summer, with crepuscular and nocturnal activity during the warmer months, and diurnal activity during the cooler months. The timing of <i>C. ehecatl</i> reproductive events, is similar to other rattlesnakes from temperate and tropical zones. Additional studies on this and related species would help to understand how the ecology of Neotropical rattlesnakes differs from rattlesnakes of more temperate zones.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/4/242Crotalinaeneotropical rattlesnakesexual dimorphismactivity patterndiet |
| spellingShingle | Rubén Alonso Carbajal-Márquez José Jesús Sigala-Rodríguez Jorge Arturo Hidalgo-García Juan José Ayala-Rodríguez José Rogelio Cedeño-Vázquez Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae) Diversity Crotalinae neotropical rattlesnake sexual dimorphism activity pattern diet |
| title | Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae) |
| title_full | Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae) |
| title_fullStr | Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae) |
| title_short | Natural History and Morphology of <i>Crotalus ehecatl</i> (Serpentes: Viperidae) |
| title_sort | natural history and morphology of i crotalus ehecatl i serpentes viperidae |
| topic | Crotalinae neotropical rattlesnake sexual dimorphism activity pattern diet |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/14/4/242 |
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