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Imantodes cenchoa |
Arboreal
snakes can extend their bodies up to 50% of their length to bridge a gap
between branches or perches under laboratory conditions. Morphological
adaptations associated with this including lateral compression of the body,
elongation of the tail, widening of ventral scales, forward-facing eyes that
also can be aimed downward, and reduction in relative mass and the most agile
species possess rigid muscles and tight skin, providing for more controlled
movements and cantilevering. Specialized behaviors also play an adaptive role,
but have been studied less because of the logistic difficulties of accessing and
working in arboreal habitats. A recent examination
of cantilevering by Ray (2012) in adult snakes from Omar Torrijos
National Park in Coclé Province, Panama used: Dipsas
sp., Imantodes cenchoa,
Oxybelis brevirostris,
Sibon argus and
S. annulatus.
Also included were several less abundant species that were tested opportunistically
and included I. inornatus,
Leptodeira septentrionalis,
and S. nebulatus.
Species of Imantodes and
Sibon exhibited
the greatest ability to bridge distances in the experiments and they show the more
highly adapted morphologically for arboreal habits. These species able to exploit
smaller twigs, which facilitates movement between the ends of branches and
subsequent cantilevering, presumably allowing these species to exploit food resources other snakes have difficulty reaching.
Citation
Ray, J.M. 2012. Bridging the gap:
interspecific differences in cantilevering ability in a Neotropical arboreal
snake assemblage. South American Journal of Herpetology 7:35-40.