DEATH OF AN ADULT Crotalus cerastes (VIPERIDAE) DUE TO INGESTION OF Dipsosaurus dorsalis (IGUANIDAE)

Leonardo Daniel Ponce Rosales; Gabriel Suárez-Varón; Oswaldo  Hernández-Gallegos; Leonardo  Fernández-Badillo; Karime G.  Gómez-Moreno

doi:10.22201/fc.25942158e.2025.2.1164

Authors

Leonardo Daniel Ponce Rosales Laboratorio de Herpetología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México
Gabriel Suárez-Varón
Oswaldo Hernández-Gallegos
Leonardo Fernández-Badillo
Karime G. Gómez-Moreno

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2025.2.1164

Keywords:

Diet, Intake, Mortality, Snake

Abstract

We report the mortality of a Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) by ingestion of a Desert Iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis) in Los Algodones, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. We found a dead individual of C. cerastes in a habitat composed of dunes, without any apparent physical injury that caused its death; however, we observed a large prey item recently ingested, which we identified as a D. dorsalis. The continual documentation of these cases in snakes helps identify ecological-evolutionary forces in prey size selection.

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