Snake shed skin consumed by Kinosternon vogti: a case of interspecific keratophagy

By

Cupul-Magaña, Fabio Germán
López-González, Nadin E.
Barraza-Soltero, Ilse K.
Blanck, Torsten
Praschag, Peter
Diruzzo, Shannon
Butterfield, Taggert G.
Escobedo-Galván, Armando H.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-9-19

Original Publication

Herpetozoa

Volume

36

Pages

259--262

Subjects

aquatic species , Food habits , Reptiles , urban wetland

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.36.e109138

 

Abstract

Some reptile species can consume their own shed skin or that of conspecifics; despite its prevalence, the benefits of eating shed skin remain poorly understood. Here, we report a field observation in which a Vallarta Mud Turtle (Kinosternon vogti) consumed a snake shed skin of Masticophis lineatus (Bocourt, 1890) in Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico. This type of record could allow us to understand the keratophagous behaviour between and within reptile species.