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    Head Morphology and Diet in the Dice Snake (Natrix tessellata)

    Authors
    Brecko, J.
    Vervust, B.
    Herrel, A.
    Van Damme, R.
    Show allShow less
    Discipline
    Biological sciences
    Subject
    Natural heritage Collections
    Audience
    Scientific
    Date
    2011
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Description
    In aquatic natricine snakes, piscivorous species tend to have narrow streamlined heads, while species that prey on frogs have broader heads. This pattern is thought to reflect the antagonistic design requirements of fast underwater striking on the one hand and the consumption of bulky prey on the other. Here we test whether a similar correlation between head shape and diet exists at the intraspecfic level, by quantifying head shape and diet in the frontal striking aquatic natricine snake Natrix tessellata. Our results show that museum specimens with fish in their stomachs had significantly narrower and more streamlined heads than individuals with frogs in their stomachs. Given that diet is strongly determined by local abundance of potential prey, these results suggest strong population-level divergence in head size and shape in this species. Future studies need to establish whether the observed differences in head shape have a genetic basis, or result from phenotypic plasticity.
    Citation
    Brecko, J.; Vervust, B.; Herrel, A.; Van Damme, R. (2011). Head Morphology and Diet in the Dice Snake (Natrix tessellata). , Mertensiella, Vol. 18, 20-29,
    Identifiers
    uri: https://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/13633
    url: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261411281_Head_Morphology_and_Diet_in_the_Dice_Snake_Natrix_tessellata
    Type
    Article
    Peer-Review
    Yes
    Language
    eng
    Links
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