The caecilian amphibian Scolecomorphus kirkii Boulenger as prey of the burrowing asp Atractaspis aterrima Günther: trophic relationships of fossorial vertebrates |
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| Authors: | David J Gower Jens B Rasmussen Simon P Loader Mark Wilkinson |
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| Institution: | Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, U.K.;, Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark;and University of Glasgow, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Division of Molecular Genetics, Pontecorvo Building, 56 Dumbarton Rd, Glasgow G11 6NU, U.K |
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| Abstract: | A report is given of an adult caecilian, Scolecomorphus kirkii, found in the gut of a specimen of the snake Atractaspis aterrima from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. Both predator and prey are largely fossorial in soil, and their ecology is poorly known, such that this is the first reported predator of any scolecomorphid caecilian. The caecilian was ingested head first and much of the flesh from the anterior of the specimen had been digested. The prey/predator mass ratio is 0.48. This value is substantially higher than reported for A. aterrima from West Africa, and refutes the notion that this species feeds only on small prey. Most reported predators of caecilians are snakes, and a brief review is presented. |
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| Keywords: | Africa Atractaspididae diet Gymnophiona soil Tanzania |
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